HER  'ROYAL  HIGHNESS 

\    CYNTHIA  II 

OF      SYRACUSE./ 
(HSID  TO  IACJ1  dND  HVZRY  ONE. 
OF  THLO1ILDRFN  WltO.SElOYAL 
dPF.RECIATION  HAS  ENCOURAGED 
METOWRJT£   THE  OZ  DOCKS 
THIS  VOLUME  K  AFF£CTIONATELY 
.DEDICATED. 


Me  led  them  into  his 
-mansion  — 


THE  EMERALD 
CITY  OF  OZ 


BY 

L.  FRANK  BAUM 

** 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  ROAD  TO  OZ,  DOROTHY  AND  THE  WIZARD  IN  OZ, 
THE  LAND  OF  OZ,  ETC. 


UBBJS— 

AUm 

HISTORIAN  OF  UT 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

JOHN  R.  NEILL 


CHICAGO 
THE  REILLY  &  BRITTON  CO. 

PUBLISHERS 


- 


04FTOP 


ERHAPS  I  should  admit  on  the  title  page  that 
this  book  is  "By  L.  Frank  Baum  and  his  cor 
respondents/1  for  I  have  used  many  suggestions 
conveyed  to  me  in  letters  from  children.  Once  on 
a  time  I  really  imagined  myself  "an  author  of  fairy 
tales, "  but  now  I  am  merely  an  editor  or  private 
secretary  for  a  host  of  youngsters  whose  ideas  I  am 
requested  to  weave  into  the  thread  of  my  stories. 

These  ideas  are  often  clever.  They  are  also  logical  and 
interesting.  So  I  have  used  them  whenever  I  could  find  an 
opportunity,  and  it  is  but  just  that  I  acknowledge  my  in 
debtedness  to  my  little  friends. 

My,  what  imaginations  these  children  have  developed! 
Sometimes  I  am  fairly  astounded  by  their  daring  and  genius. 
There  will  be  no  lack  of  fairy-tale  authors  in  the  future,  I 
am  sure.  My  readers  have  told  me  what  to  do  with  Dor 
othy,  and  Aunt  Em  and  Uncle  Henry,  and  I  have  obeyed 
their  mandates.  They  have  also  given  me  a  variety  of  sub 
jects  to  write  about  in  the  future:  enough,  in  fact,  to  keep 
me  busy  for  some  time.  I  am  very  proud  of  this  alliance. 
Children  love  these  stories  because  children  have  helped  to 
create  them.  My  readers  know  what  they  want  and  realize 
that  I  try  to  please  them.  The  result  is  very  satisfactory 
to  the  publishers,  to  me,  and  (I  am  quite  sure)  to  the  children. 

I   hope,  my  dears,  it  will  be  a  long   time    before 
we  are  obliged  to  dissolve  partnership. 

Coronado,  igio  L.  FRANK  BAUM. 


LIST  OF  CHAPTERS 


CHAPTER 

i — How 

2 — How 

3 — How 

4 — How 

$ — How 

6— How 

7 — How 

8— How 

9 — How 

10 — How 

ii — How 

12 — How 

13 — How 

14 — How 

IS — How 

1 6 — How 

17 — How 

1 8— How 

19 — How 

20 — How 

21 — How 

22 HOW 

23 — How 
24— How 
25 — How 
26 — How 
27 — How 
28— How 
29 — How 
30 — How 


PAGE 

THE  NOME  KING  BECAME  ANGRY 1 1 

UNCLE  HENRY  GOT  INTO  TROUBLE 21 

OZMA  GRANTED  DOROTHY'S  REQUEST 29 

THE  NOME  KING  PLANNED  REVENGE 39 

DOROTHY  BECAME  A  PRINCESS 48 

GUPH  VISITED  THE  WHIMSIES 59 

AUNT  EM  CONQUERED  THE  LION  . 66 

THE  GRAND  GALLIPOOT  JOINED  THE  NOMES 78 

THE  WOGGLEBUG  TAUGHT  ATHLETICS 87  ' 

THE  CUTTENCLIPS    LlVED IOO 

THE  GENERAL  MET  THE  FIRST  AND  FOREMOST 114 

THEY  MATCHED  THE  FUDDLES 127 

THE  GENERAL  TALKED  TO  THE  KING 141 

THE  WIZARD  PRACTICED  SORCERY 147 

DOROTHY  HAPPENED  TO  GET  LOST 1 58 

DOROTHY  VISITED  UTENSIA 169 

THEY  CAME  TO  BUNBURY 180 

OZMA  LOOKED  INTO  THE  MAGIC  PICTURE 192 

BUNNYBURY  WELCOMED  THE  STRANGERS 196 

DOROTHY  LUNCHED  WITH  A  KING 205 

THE  KING  CHANGED  His  MIND 216 

THE  WIZARD  FOUND  DOROTHY 226 

THEY  ENCOUNTERED  THE  FLUTTERBUDGETS 237 

THE  TIN  WOODMAN  TOLD  THE  SAD  NEWS 247 

THE  SCARECROW  DISPLAYED  His  WISDQM 255 

OZMA  REFUSED  TO  FIGHT  FOR  HER  KINGDOM 263 

THE  FIERCE  WARRIORS  INVADED  Oz 275 

THEY  DRANK  AT  THE  FORBIDDEN  FOUNTAIN 280 

GLINDA  WORKED  A  MAGIC  SPELL 289 

THE  STORY  OF  Oz  CAME  TO  AN  END 295 

A 


THE  Nome  King  was  in  an  angry  mqo.d,-,and  at-sirch  times 
he  was  very  disagreeable.  Every  Qjae*Hept;^way.frprri  him, 
even  his  Chief  Steward  Kaliko. 

Therefore  the  King  stormed  and  raved  all  by  himself, 
walking  up  and  down  in  his  jewel-studded  cavern  and  get 
ting  angrier  all  the  time.  Then  he  remembered  that  it  was 
no  fun  being  angry  unless  he  had  some  one  to  frighten  and 
make  miserable,  and  he  rushed  to  his  big  gong  and  made  it 
clatter  as  loud  as  he  could. 

In  came  the  Chief  Steward,  trying  not  to  show  the  Nome 
King  how  frightened  he  was. 

"Send  the  Chief  Counselor  here !"  shouted  the  angry  mon 
arch. 

11 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

Kaliko  ran  out  as  fast  as  his  spindle  legs  could  carry  his 
fat  round  body,  and  soon  the  Chief  Counselor  entered  the 
cavern.  The  King  scowled  and  said  to  him : 

"I  'm  in  great  trouble  over  the  loss  of  my  Magic  Belt. 
Every  little  while  I  want  to  do  something  magical,  and  find 
I  can't  because  the  Belt  is  gone.  That  makes  me  angry,  and 
when  I  'm  angry  I  can't  have  a  good  time.  Now,  what  do 
you  advise?" 

"Some  people,"  said  the  Chief  Counselor,  "enjoy  getting 
angry." 

"But  not  all  the  time,"  declared  the  King.  "To  be  angry 
once  in' Si  .whileus  really  good  fun,  because  it  makes  others  so 
miserable.  But  .to  beTangry  morning,  noon  and  night,  as  I 
am,  grows  monotonous 'ind  prevents  my  gaining  any  other 
pleasure  in  life.  Now,  what  do  you  advise?" 

"Why,  if  you  are  angry  because  you  want  to  do  magical 
things  and  can't,  and  if  you  don't  want  to  get  angry  at  all, 
my  advice  is  not  to  want  to  do  magical  things." 

Hearing  this,  the  King  glared  at  his  Counselor  with,  a 
furious  expression  and  tugged  at  his  own  long  white  whis 
kers  until  he  pulled  them  so  hard  that  he  yelled  with  pain. 

"You  are  a  fool!"  he  exclaimed. 

"I  share  that  honor  with  your  Majesty,"  said  the  Chief 

Counselor. 

«• 

The  King  roared  with  rage  and  stamped  his  foot. 

12 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Ho,  there,  my  guards!"  he  cried.  "Ho"  is  a  royal  way 
of  saying,  "Come  here."  So,  when  the  guards  had  hoed,  the 
King  said  to  them : 

:cTake  this  Chief  Counselor  and  throw  him  away." 

Then  the  guards  took  the  Chief  Counselor,  and  bound 
him  with  chains  to  prevent  his  struggling,  and  threw  him 
away.  And  the  King  paced  up  and  down  his  cavern  more 
angry  than  before. 

Finally  he  rushed  to  his  big  gong  and  made  it  clatter  like 
a  fire-alarm.  Kaliko  appeared  again,  trembling  and  white 
with  fear. 

"Fetch  my  pipe !"  yelled  the  King. 

"Your  pipe  is  already  here,  your  Majesty,"  replied 
Kaliko. 

"Then  get  my  tobacco!"  roared  the  King.  ^ 

"The  tobacco  is  in  your  pipe,  your  Majesty,"  returned 
the  Steward. 

r'Then  bring  a  live  coal  from  the  furnace!"  commanded 
the  King. 

"The  tobacco  is  lighted,  and  your  Majesty  is  already 
smoking  your  pipe,"  answered  the  Steward. 

"Why,  so  I  am!"  said  the  King,  who  had  forgotten  this 
fact;  "but  you  are  very  rude  to  remind  me  of  it." 

"I  am  a  lowborn,  miserable  villain,"  declared  the  Chief 
Steward,  humbly. 

14 


Ch  a  p  t  er  One 


The  Nome  King  could  think  of  nothing  to  say  next, 
so  he  puffed  away  at  his  pipe  and  paced  up  and  down  the 
room.  Finally  he  remembered  how  angry  he  was,  and  cried 
out: 

"What  do  you  mean,  Kaliko,  by  being  so  contented  when 
your  monarch  is  unhappy?" 

"What  makes  you  unhappy?"  asked  the  Steward. 

"I  've  lost  my  Magic  Belt.  A  little  girl  named  Dorothy, 
who  was  here  with  Ozma  of  Oz,  stole  my  Belt  and  carried  it 
away  with  her,"  said  the  King,  grinding  his  teeth  with  rage. 

"She  captured  it  in  a  fair  fight,"  Kaliko  ventured  to  say. 

"But  I  want  it!  I  must  have  it!  Half  my  power  is  gone 
with  that  Belt!"  roared  the  King. 

"You  will  have  to  go  to  the  Land  of  Oz  to  recover  it,  and 
your  Majesty  can't  get  to  the  Land  of  Oz  in  any  possible 
way,"  said  the  Steward,  yawning  because  he  had  been  on 
duty  ninety-six  hours,  and  was  sleepy. 

"Why  not?'  asked  the  King. 

"Because  there  is  a  deadly  desert  all  around  that  fairy 
country,  which  no  one  is  able  to  cross.  You  know  that  fact 
as  well  as  I  do,  your  Majesty.  Never  mind  the  lost  Belt. 
You  have  plenty  of  power  left,  for  you  rule  this  underground 
kingdom  like  a  tyrant,  and  thousands  of  Nomes  obey  your 
commands.  I  advise  you  to  drink  a  glass  of  melted  silver,  to 
quiet  your  nerves,  and  then  go  to  bed." 

15 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

The  King  grabbed  a  big  ruby  and  threw  it  at  Kaliko's 
head.  The  Steward  ducked  to  escape  the  heavy  jewel,  which 
crashed  against  the  door  just  over  his  left  ear. 

"Get  out  of  my  sight !  Vanish !  Go  away  —  and  send 
General  Blug  here,"  screamed  the  Nome  King. 

Kaliko  hastily  withdrew,  and  the  Nome  King  stamped 
up  and  down  until  the  General  of  his  armies  appeared. 

This  Nome  was  known  far  and  wide  as  a  terrible  fighter 
and  a  cruel,  desperate  commander.  He  had  fifty  thousand 
Nome  soldiers,  all  well  drilled,  who  feared  nothing  but  their 
stern  master.  Yet  General  Blug  was  a  trifle  uneasy  when 
he  arrived  and  saw  how  angry  the  Nome  King  was. 

"Ha!   So  you  're  here!"  cried  the  King. 

"So  I  am,"  said  the  General. 

"March  your  army  at  once  to  the  Land  of  Oz,  capture  and 
destroy  the  Emerald  City,  and  bring  back  to  me  my  Magic 
Belt!"  roared  the  King. 

"You  're  crazy,"  calmly  remarked  the  General. 

"What's  that?  What's  that?  What 's  that?"  And  the 
Nome  King  danced  around  on  his  pointed  toes,  he  was  so 
enraged. 

"You  don't  know  what  you  're  talking  about,"  continued 
the  General,  seating  himself  upon  a  large  cut  diamond.  "I 
advise  you  to  stand  in  a  corner  and  count  sixty  before  you 
speak  again.  By  that  time  you  may  be  more  sensible." 

16 


Chapter  One 


The  King  looked  around  for  something  to  throw  at  Gen 
eral  Blug,  but  as  nothing  was  handy  he  began  to  consider 
that  perhaps  the  man  was  right  and  he  had  been  talking 
foolishly.  So  he  merely  threw  himself  into  his  glittering 
throne  and  tipped  his  crown  over  his  ear  and  curled  his  feet 
up  under  him  and  glared  wickedly  at  Blug. 

"In  the  first  place,"  said  the  General,  "we  cannot  march 
across  the  deadly  desert  to  the  Land  of  Oz ;  and,  if  we  could, 
the  Ruler  of  that  country,  Princess  Ozma,  has  certain  fairy 
powers  that  would  render  my  army  helpless.  Had  you  not 
lost  your  Magic  Belt  we  might  have  some  chance  of  defeat 
ing  Ozma;  but  the  Belt  is  gone." 

"I  want  it!"  screamed  the  King.    "I  must  have  it." 

"Well,  then,  let  us  try  in  a  sensible  way  to  get  it,"  re 
plied  the  General.  "The  Belt  was  captured  by  a  little  girl 
named  Dorothy,  who  lives  in  Kansas,  in  the  United  States  of 
America." 

"But  she  left  it  in  the  Emerald  City,  with  Ozma,"  de 
clared  the  King. 

"How  do  you  know  that?'  asked  the  General. 

"One  of  my  spies,  who  is  a  Blackbird,  flew  over  the  desert 
to  the  Land  of  Oz,  and  saw  the  Magic  Belt  in  Ozma's  pal 
ace,"  replied  the  King  with  a  groan. 

"Now,   that  gives   me   an   idea,"   said   General   Blug, 

17 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

thoughtfully.  'There  are  two  ways  to  get  to  the  Land  of  Oz 
without  traveling  across  the  sandy  desert." 

"What  are  they?"  demanded  the  King,  eagerly. 

"One  way  is  over  the  desert,  through  the  air;  and  the 
other  way  is  under  the  desert,  through  the  earth." 


Hearing  this  the  Nome  King  uttered  a  yell  of  joy  and 
leaped  from  his  throne,  to  resume  his  wild  walk  up  and  down 
the  cavern. 

"That's  it,  Blug!"  he  shouted.  That's  the  idea,  Gen 
eral!  I  'm  King  of  the  Under  World,  and  my  subjects  are  all 
miners.  I  '11  make  a  secret  tunnel  under  the  desert  to  the 

18 


Chapter   One 


Land  of  Oz  —  yes !  right  up  to  the  Emerald  City  —  and  you 
will  march  your  armies  there  and  capture  the  whole  coun- 
try!" 

"Softly,  softly,  your  Majesty.  Don't  go  too  fast/' 
warned  the  General.  "My  Nomes  are  good  fighters,  but  they 
are  not  strong  enough  to  conquer  the  Emerald  City." 

"Are  you  sure?"  asked  the  King. 

"Absolutely  certain,  your  Majesty." 

"Then  what  am  I  to  do?" 

"Give  up  the  idea  and  mind  your  own  business,"  advised 
the  General.  uYou  have  plenty  to  do  trying  to  rule  your 
underground  kingdom." 

"But  I  want  that  Magic  Belt  —  and  I  'm  going  to  have 
it!"  roared  the  Nome  King. 

"I  'd  like  to  see  you  get  it,"  replied  the  General,  laugh 
ing  maliciously. 

The  King  was  by  this  time  so  exasperated  that  he  picked 
up  his  scepter,  which  had  a  heavy  ball,  made  from  a  sap 
phire,  at  the  end  of  it,  and  threw  it  with  all  his  force  at  Gen 
eral  Blug.  The  sapphire  hit  the  General  upon  his  forehead 
and  knocked  him  flat  upon  the  ground,  where  he  lay  motion 
less.  Then  the  King  rang  his  gong  and  told  his  guards  to 
drag  out  the  General  and  throw  him  away;  which  they  did. 

This  Nome  King  was  named  Roquat  the  Red,  and  no 
one  loved  him.  He  was  a  bad  man  and  a  powerful  monarch, 

19 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

and  he  had  resolved  to  destroy  the  Land  of  Oz  and  its  mag 
nificent  Emerald  City,  to  enslave  Princess  Ozma  and  little 
Dorothy  and  all  the  Oz  people,  and  recover  his  Magic  Belt. 
This  same  Belt  had  once  enabled  Roquat  the  Red  to  carry  out 
many  wicked  plans ;  but  that  was  before  Ozma  and  her  peo 
ple  marched  to  the  underground  cavern  and  captured  it.  The 
Nome  King  could  not  forgive  Dorothy  or  Princess  Ozma, 
and  he  had  determined  to  be  revenged  upon  them. 

But  they,  for  their  part,  did  not  know  they  had  so 
dangerous  an  enemy.  Indeed,  Ozma  and  Dorothy  had  both 
almost  forgotten  that  such  a  person  as  the  Nome  King  yet 
lived  under  the  mountains  of  the  Land  of  Ev  —  which  lay 
just  across  the  deadly  desert  to  the  south  of  the  Land  of  Oz. 
An  unsuspected  enemy  is  doubly  dangerous. 


DOROTHY  GALE  lived  on  a  farm  in  Kansas,  with  her 
Aunt  Em  and  her  Uncle  Henry.  It  was  not  a  big  farm,  nor 
a  very  good  one,  because  sometimes  the  rain  did  not  come 
when  the  crops  needed  it,  and  then  everything  withered  and 
dried  up.  Once  a  cyclone  had  carried  away  Uncle  Henry's 
house,  so  that  he  was  obliged  to  build  another ;  and  as  he  was 
a  poor  man  he  had  to  mortgage  his  farm  to  get  the  money 
to  pay  for  the  new  house.  Then  his  health  became  bad  and 
he  was  too  feeble  to  work.  The  doctor  ordered  him  to  take 
a  sea  voyage  and  he  went  to  Australia  and  took  Dorothy  with 
him.  That  cost  a  lot  of  money,  too. 

Uncle  Henry  grew  poorer  every  year,  and  the  crops  raised 
on  the  farm  only  bought  food  for  the  family.  Therefore  the 
mortgage  could  not  be  paid.  At  last  the  banker  who  had 

21 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

loaned  him  the  money  said  that  if  he  did  not  pay  on  a  certain 
day,  his  farm  would  be  taken  away  from  him. 

This  worried  Uncle  Henry  a  good  deal,  for  without  the 
farm  he  would  have  no  way  to  earn  a  living.  He  was  a  good 
man,  and  worked  in  the  fields  as  hard  as  he  could;  and  Aunt 
Em  did  all  the  housework,  with  Dorothy's  help.  Yet  they 
did  not  seem  to  get  along. 

This  little  girl,  Dorothy,  was  like  dozens  of  little  girls 
you  know.  She  was  loving  and  usually  sweet-tempered,  and 
had  a  round  rosy  face  and  earnest  eyes.  Life  was  a  serious 
thing  to  Dorothy,  and  a  wonderful  thing,  too,  for  she  had 
encountered  more  strange  adventures  in  her  short  life  than 
many  other  girls  of  her  age. 

Aunt  Em  once  said  she  thought  the  fairies  must  have 
marked  Dorothy  at  her  birth,  because  she  had  wandered  into 
strange  places  and  had  always  been  protected  by  some  un 
seen  power.  As  for  Uncle  Henry,  he  thought  his  little  niece 
merely  a  dreamer,  as  her  dead  mother  had  been,  for  he  could 
not  quite  believe  all  the  curious  stories  Dorothy  told  them  of 
the  Land  of  Oz,  which  she  had  several  times  visited.  He  did 
not  think  that  she  tried  to  deceive  her  uncle  and  aunt,  but 
he  imagined  that  she  had  dreamed  all  of  those  astonishing  ad 
ventures,  and  that  the  dreams  had  been  so  real  to  her  that 
she  had  come  to  believe  them  true. 

Whatever  the  explanation  might  be,  it  was  certain  that 

22 


Chapter  Two 


Dorothy  had  been  absent  from  her  Kansas  home  for  several 
long  periods,  always  disappearing  unexpectedly,  yet  always 
coming  back  safe  and  sound,  with  amazing  tales  of  where  she 
had  been  and  the  unusual  people  she  had  met.  Her  uncle 
and  aunt  listened  to  her  stories  eagerly  and  in  spite  of  their 
doubts  began  to  feel  that  the  little  girl  had  gained  a  lot  of 
experience  and  wisdom  that  were  unaccountable  in  this  age, 
when  fairies  are  supposed  no  longer  to  exist. 

Most  of  Dorothy's  stories  were  about  the  Land  of  Oz, 
with  its  beautiful  Emerald  City  and  a  lovely  girl  Ruler 
named  Ozma,  who  was  the  most  faithful  friend  of  the  little 
Kansas  girl.  When  Dorothy  told  about  the  riches  of  this 
fairy  country  Uncle  Henry  would  sigh,  for  he  knew  that  a 
single  one  of  the  great  emeralds  that  were  so  common  there 
would  pay  all  his  debts  and  leave  his  farm  free.  But  Doro 
thy  never  brought  any  jewels  home  with  her,  so  their  poverty 
became  greater  every  year. 

When  the  banker  told  Uncle  Henry  that  he  must  pay  the 
money  in  thirty  days  or  leave  the  farm,  the  poor  man  was  in 
despair,  as  he  knew  he  could  not  possibly  get  the  money.  So 
he  told  his  wife,  Aunt  Em,  of  his  trouble,  and  she  first  cried  a 
little  and  then  said  that  they  must  be  brave  and  do  the  best 
they  could,  and  go  away  somewhere  and  try  to  earn  an  honest 
living.  But  they  were  getting  old  and  feeble  and  she  feared 
that  they  could  not  take  care  of  Dorothy  as  well  as  they  had 

23 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

formerly  done.  Probably  the  little  girl  would  also  be  obliged 
to  go  to  work. 

They  did  not  tell  their  niece  the  sad  news  for  several 
days,  not  wishing  to  make  her  unhappy;  but  one  morning 
the  little  girl  found  Aunt  Em  softly  crying  while  Uncle 
Henry  tried  to  comfort  her.  Then  Dorothy  asked  them  to 
tell  her  what  was  the  matter. 

"We  must  give  up  the  farm,  my  dear,"  replied  her  uncle, 
sadly,  "and  wander  away  into  the  world  to  work  for  our  liv- 
ing/' 

The  girl  listened  quite  seriously,  for  she  had  not  known 
before  how  desperately  poor  they  were. 

"We  don't  mind  for  ourselves,"  said  her  aunt,  stroking 
the  little  girl's  head  tenderly;  "but  we  love  you  as  if  you  were 
our  own  child,  and  we  are  heart-broken  to  think  that  you 
must  also  endure  poverty,  and  work  for  a  living  before  you 
have  grown  big  and  strong." 

"What  could  I  do  to  earn  money?"  asked  Dorothy. 

:'You  might  do  housework  for  some  one,  dear,  you  are  so 
handy;  or  perhaps  you  could  be  a  nurse-maid  to  little  chil 
dren.  I  'm  sure  I  don't  know  exactly  what  you  can  do  to 
earn  money,  but  if  your  uncle  and  I  are  able  to  support  you 
we  will  do  it  willingly,  and  send  you  to  school.  We  fear, 
though,  that  we  shall  have  much  trouble  in  earning  a  living 

24 


Chapter  Two 


for  ourselves.  No  one  wants  to  employ  old  people  who  are 
broken  down  in  health,  as  we  are." 

Dorothy  smiled. 

"Would  n't  it  be  funny,"  she  said,  "for  me  to  do  house 
work  in  Kansas,  when  I'm  a  Princess  in  the  Land  of  Oz?" 

"A  Princess!"  they  both  exclaimed,  astonished. 

uYes;  Ozma  made  me  a  Princess  some  time  ago,  and  she 
has  often  begged  me  to  come  and  live  always  in  the  Emerald 
City,"  said  the  child. 

Her  uncle  and  aunt  looked  at  each  other  in  amazement. 
Then  the  man  said  : 

"Do  you  suppose  you  could  manage  to  return  to  your 
fairyland,  my  dear?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  replied  Dorothy;  "I  could  do  that  easily." 

"How?"  asked  Aunt  Em. 

"Ozma  sees  me  every  day  at  four  o'clock,  in  her  Magic 
Picture.  She  can  see  me  wherever  I  am,  no  matter  what  I  am 
doing.  And  at  that  time,  if  I  make  a  certain  secret  sign,  she 
will  send  for  me  by  means  of  the  Magic  Belt,  which  I  once 
captured  from  the  Nome  King.  Then,  in  the  wink  of  an  eye, 
I  shall  be  with  Ozma  in  her  palace." 

The  elder  people  remained  silent  for  some  time  after 
Dorothy  had  spoken.  Finally  Aunt  Em  said,  with  another 
sigh  of  regret : 

"If  that  is  the  case,  Dorothy,  perhaps  you  'd  better  go  and 


The  Emerald  City  ot  Oz 

live  in  the  Emerald  City.  It  will  break  our  hearts  to  lose 
you  from  our  lives,  but  you  will  be  so  much  better  off  with 
your  fairy  friends  that  it  seems  wisest  and  best  for  you  to  go." 

"I  'm  not  so  sure  about  that,"  remarked  Uncle  Henry, 
shaking  his  gray  head  doubtfully.  'These  things  all  seem 
real  to  Dorothy,  I  know;  but  I  'm  afraid  our  little  girl  won't 
find  her  fairyland  just  what  she  has  dreamed  it  to  be.  It 
would  make  me  very  unhappy  to  think  that  she  was  wander 
ing  among  strangers  who  might  be  unkind  to  her." 

Dorothy  laughed  merrily  at  this  speech,  and  then  she  be 
came  very  sober  again,  for  she  could  see  how  all  this  trouble 
was  worrying  her  aunt  and  uncle,  and  knew  that  unless  she 
found  a  way  to  help  them  their  future  lives  would  be  quite 
miserable  and  unhappy.  She  knew  that  she  could  help  them. 
She  had  thought  of  a  way  already.  Yet  she  did  not  tell  them 
at  once  what  it  was,  because  she  must  ask  Ozma's  consent 
before  she  would  be  able  to  carry  out  her  plans. 

So  she  only  said : 

"If  you  will  promise  not  to  worry  a  bit  about  me,  I  '11  go 
to  the  Land  of  Oz  this  very  afternoon.  And  I  '11  make  a 
promise,  too;  that  you  shall  both  see  me  again  before  the 
day  comes  when  you  must  leave  this  farm." 

'The  day  is  n't  far  away,  now,"  her  uncle  sadly  replied. 
"I  did  not  tell  you  of  our  trouble  until  I  was  obliged  to,  dear 
Dorothy,  so  the  evil  time  is  near  at  hand.  Bu<-  if  you  are 

26 


Chapter  Two 


quite  sure  your  fairy  friends  will  give  you  a  home,  it  will  be 
best  for  you  to  go  to  them,  as  your  aunt  says." 

That  was  why  Dorothy  went  to  her  little  room  in  the  attic 
that  afternoon,  taking  with  her  a  small  dog  named  Toto. 
The  dog  had  curly  black  hair  and  big  brown  eyes  and  loved 
Dorothy  very  dearly. 

The  child  had  kissed  her  uncle  and  aunt  affectionately 
before  she  went  upstairs,  and  now  she  looked  around  her  lit 
tle  room  rather  wistfully,  gazing  at  the  simple  trinkets  and 
worn  calico  and  gingham  dresses,  as  if  they  were  old  friends. 
She  was  tempted  at  first  to  make  a  bundle  of  them,  yet  she 
knew  very  well  that  they  would  be  of  no  use  to  her  in  her 

future  life. 

She  sat  down  upon  a  broken-backed  chair  —  the  only  one 
the  room  contained  —  and  holding  Toto  in  her  arms  waited 
patiently  until  the  clock  struck  four. 

Then  she  made  the  secret  signal  that  had  been  agreed 
upon  between  her  and  Ozma. 

Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  waited  downstairs.  They 
were  uneasy  and  a  good  deal  excited,  for  this  is  a  practical 
humdrum  world,  and  it  seemed  to  them  quite  impossible  that 
their  little  niece  could  vanish  from  her  home  and  travel  in 
stantly  to  fairyland. 

So  they  watched  the  stairs,  which  seemed  to  be  the  only 
way  that  Dorothy  could  get  out  of  the  farmhouse,  and  they 

27, 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

watched  them  a  long  time.  They  heard  the  clock  strike  four, 
but  there  was  no  sound  from  above. 

Half-past  four  came,  and  now  they  were  too  impatient  to 
wait  any  longer.  Softly  they  crept  up  the  stairs  to  the  door 
of  the  little  girl's  room. 

"Dorothy!   Dorothy!"  they  called. 

There  was  no  answer. 

They  opened  the  door  and  looked  in. 

The  room  was  empty. 


28 


I  SUPPOSE  you  have  read  so  much  about  the  magnificent 
Emerald  City  that  there  is  little  need  for  me  to  describe  it 
here.  It  is  the  Capital  City  of  the  Land  of  Oz,  which  is 
justly  considered  the  most  attractive  and  delightful  fairy 
land  in  all  the  world. 

The  Emerald  City  is  built  all  of  beautiful  marbles  in 
which  are  set  a  profusion  of  emeralds,  every  one  exquisitely 
cut  and  of  very  great  size.  There  are  other  jewels  used  in 
the  decorations  inside  the  houses  and  palaces,  such  as  rubies, 
diamonds,  sapphires,  amethysts  and  turquoises.  But  in  the 
streets  and  upon  the  outside  of  the  buildings  only  emeralds 
appear,  from  which  circumstance  the  place  is  named  the 
Emerald  City  of  Oz.  It  has  nine  thousand,  six  hundred  and 
fifty-four  buildings,  in  which  lived  fifty-seven  thousand  three 
hundred  and  eighteen  people,  up  to  the  time  my  story  opens. 

29 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

All  the  surrounding  country,  extending  to  the  borders 
of  the  desert  which  enclosed  it  upon  every  side,  was  full  of 
pretty  and  comfortable  farmhouses,  in  which  resided  those 
inhabitants  of  Oz  who  preferred  country  to  city  life. 

Altogether  there  were  more  than  half  a  million  people  in 
the  Land  of  Oz  —  although  some  of  them,  as  you  will  soon 
learn,  were  not  made  of  flesh  and  blood  as  we  are  —  and 
every  inhabitant  of  that  favored  country  was  happy  and  pros 
perous. 

No  disease  of  any  sort  was  ever  known  among  the  Ozites, 
and  so  no  one  ever  died  unless  he  met  with  an  accident  that 
prevented  him  from  living.  This  happened  very  seldom,  in 
deed.  There  were  no  poor  people  in  the  Land  of  Oz,  because 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  money,  and  all  property  of  every 
sort  belonged  to  the  Ruler.  The  people  were  her  children, 
and  she  cared  for  them.  Each  person  was  given  freely  by  his 
neighbors  whatever  he  required  for  his  use,  which  is  as  much 
as  any  one  may  reasonably  desire.  Some  tilled  the  lands  and 
raised  great  crops  of  grain,  which  was  divided  equally  among 
the  entire  population,  so  that  all  had  enough.  There  were 
many  tailors  and  dressmakers  and  shoemakers  and  the  like, 
who  made  things  that  any  who  desired  them  might  wear. 
Likewise  there  were  jewelers  who  made  ornaments  for  the 
person,  which  pleased  and  beautified  the  people,  and  these 
ornaments  also  were  free  to  those  who  asked  for  them.  Each 

30 


Chapter  Three 


man  and  woman,  no  matter  what  he  or  she  produced  for  the 
good  of  the  community,  was  supplied  by  the  neighbors  with 
food  and  clothing  and  a  house  and  furniture  and  ornaments 
and  games.  If  by  chance  the  supply  ever  ran  short,  more 
was  taken  from  the  great  storehouses  of  the  Ruler,  which 
were  afterward  filled  up  again  when  there  was  more  of  any 
article  than  the  people  needed. 

Every  one  worked  half  the  time  and  played  half  the  time, 
and  the  people  enjoyed  the  work  as  much  as  they  did  the 
play,  because  it  is  good  to  be  occupied  and  to  have  something 
to  do.  There  were  no  cruel  overseers  set  to  watch  them,  and 
no  one  to  rebuke  them  or  to  find  fault  with  them.  So  each  one 
was  proud  to  do  all  he  could  for  his  friends  and  neighbors, 
and  was  glad  when  they  would  accept  the  things  he  produced. 

You  will  know,  by  what  I  have  here  told  you,  that  the 
Land  of  Oz  was  a  remarkable  country.  I  do  not  suppose  such 
an  arrangement  would  be  practical  with  us,  but  Dorothy  as 
sures  me  that  it  works  finely  with  the  Oz  people. 

Oz  being  a  fairy  country,  the  people  were,  of  course,  fairy 
people;  but  that  does  not  mean  that  all  of  them  were  very 
unlike  the  people  of  our  own  world.  There  were  all  sorts 
of  queer  characters  among  them,  but  not  a  single  one  who  was 
evil,  or  who  possessed  a  selfish  or  violent  nature.  They  were 
peaceful,  kind-hearted,  loving  and  merry,  and  every  inhabit- 

31 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

ant  adored  the  beautiful  girl  who  ruled  them,  and  delighted 
to  obey  her  every  command. 

In  spite  of  all  I  have  said  in  a  general  way,  there  were 
some  parts  of  the  Land  of  Oz  not  quite  so  pleasant  as  the 
farming  country  and  the  Emerald  City  which  was  its  center. 
Far  away  in  the  South  Country  there  lived  in  the  mountains 
a'band  of  strange  people  called  Hammer-Heads,  because  they 
had  no  arms  and  used  their  flat  heads  to  pound  any  one  who 
came  near  them.  Their  necks  were  like  rubber,  so  that  they 
could  shoot  out  their  heads  to  quite  a  distance,  and  after 
ward  draw  them  back  again  to  their  shoulders.  The  Ham- 
mer-Heads  were  called  the  "Wild  People,"  but  never  harmed 
any  but  those  who  disturbed  them  in  the  mountains  where 
they  lived. 

In  some  of  the  dense  forests  there  lived  great  beasts  of 
every  sort;  yet  these  were  for  the  most  part  harmless  and  even 
sociable,  and  conversed  agreeably  with  those  who  visited 
their  haunts.  The  Kalidahs — beasts  with  bodies  like  bears 
and  heads  like  tigers — had  once  been  fierce  and  bloodthirsty, 
but  even  they  were  now  nearly  all  tamed,  although  at  times 
one  or  another  of  them  would  get  cross  and  disagreeable. 

Not  so  tame  were  the  Fighting  Trees,  which  had  a  forest 
of  their  own.  If  any  one  approached  them  these  curious  trees 
would  bend  down  their  branches,  twine  them  around  the  in 
truders,  and  hurl  them  away. 

32 


Chapter  Three 


But  these  unpleasant  things  existed  only  in  a  few  remote 
parts  of  the  Land  of  Oz.  I  suppose  every  country  has  some 
drawbacks,  so  even  this  almost  perfect  fairyland  could  not 
be  quite  perfect.  Once  there  had  been  wicked  witches  in  the 
land,  too;  but  now  these  had  all  been  destroyed;  so,  as  I  said, 
only  peace  and  happiness  reigned  in  Oz. 

For  some  time  Ozma  has  ruled  over  this  fair  country,  and 
never  was  Ruler  more  popular  or  beloved.  She  is  said  to 
be  the  most  beautiful  girl  the  world  has  ever  known,  and 
her  heart  and  mind  are  as  lovely  as  her  person. 

Dorothy  Gale  had  several  times  visited  the  Emerald  City 
and  experienced  adventures  in  the  Land  of  Oz,  so  that  she 
and  Ozma  had  now  become  firm  friends.  The  girl  Ruler  had 
even  made  Dorothy  a  Princess  of  Oz,  and  had  often  implored 
her  to  come  to  Ozma's  stately  palace  and  live  there  always; 
but  Dorothy  had  been  loyal  to  her  Aunt  Em  and  Uncle 
Henry,  who  had  cared  for  her  since  she  was  a  baby,  and  she 
had  refused  to  leave  them  because  she  knew  they  would  be 
lonely  without  her. 

However,  Dorothy  now  realized  that  things  were  going  to 
be  different  with  her  uncle  and  aunt  from  this  time  forth,  so 
after  giving  the  matter  deep  thought  she  decided  to  ask  Ozma 
to  grant  her  a  very  great  favor. 

A  few  seconds  after  she  had  made  the  secret  signal  in  her 
little  bedchamber,  the  Kansas  girl  was  seated  in  a  lovely  room 

33 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

in  Ozma's  palace  in  the  Emerald  City  of  Oz.  When  the 
first  loving  kisses  and  embraces  had  been  exchanged,  the  fair 
Ruler  inquired : 

"What  is  the  matter,  dear?  I  know  something  unpleasant 
has  happened  to  you,  for  your  face  was  very  sober  when  I  saw 
it  in  my  Magic  Picture.  And  whenever  you  signal  me  to 
transport  you  to  this  safe  place,  where  you  are  always  wel 
come,  I  know  you  are  in  danger  or  in  trouble." 

Dorothy  sighed. 

'This  time,  Ozma,  it  is  n't  I,"  she  replied.  "But  it 's 
worse,  I  guess,  for  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  are  in  a  heap 
of  trouble,  and  there  seems  no  way  for  them  to  get  out  of  it 
—  anyhow,  not  while  they  live  in  Kansas." 

:cTell  me  about  it,  Dorothy,"  said  Ozma,  with  ready  sym 
pathy. 

"Why,  you  see  Uncle  Henry  is  poor;  for  the  farm  in  Kan 
sas  does  n't  'mount  to  much,  as  farms  go.  So  one  day  Uncle 
Henry  borrowed  some  money,  and  wrote  a  letter  saying  that 
if  he  did  n't  pay  the  money  back  they  could  take  his  farm  for 
pay.  Course  he  'spected  to  pay  by  making  money  from  the 
farm;  but  he  just  could  n't.  An'  so  they  're  going  to  take  the 
farm,  and  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  won't  have  any  place 
to  live.  They  're  pretty  old  to  do  much  hard  work,  Ozma;  so 
T  11  have  to  work  for  them,  unless  —  " 

34 


Chapter  Three 


Ozma  had  been  thoughtful  during  the  story,  but  now  she 
smiled  and  pressed  her  little  friend's  hand. 

"Unless  what,  dear?"  she  asked. 

Dorothy  hesitated,  because  her  request  meant  so  much  to 
them  all. 

"Well,"  said  she,  "I  'd  like  to  live  here  in  the  Land  of 
Oz,  where  you  've  often  'vited  me  to  live.  But  I  can't,  you 
know,  unless  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  could  live  here 


too/3 


"Of  course  not,"  exclairrjed  the  Ruler  of  Oz,  laughing 
gaily.  "So,  in  order  to  get  you,  little  friend,  we  must  invite 
your  Uncle  and  Aunt  to  live  in  Oz,  also." 

"Oh,  will  you,  Ozma?"  cried  Dorothy,  clasping  her 
chubby  little  hands  eagerly.  "Will  you  bring  them  here  with 
the  Magic  Belt,  and  give  them  a  nice  little  farm  in  the 
Munchkin  Country,  or  the  Winkie  Country  —  or  some  other 
place?" 

"To  be  sure,"  answered  Ozma,  full  of  joy  at  the  chance 
to  please  her  little  friend.  "I  have  long  been  thinking  of  this 
very  thing,  Dorothy  dear,  and  often  I  have  had  it  in  my  mind 
to  propose  it  to  you.  I  am  sure  your  uncle  and  aunt  must  be 
good  and  worthy  people,  or  you  would  not  love  them  so  much ; 
and  for  your  friends,  Princess,  there  is  always  room  in  the 
Land  of  Oz." 

Dorothy  was  delighted,  yet  not  altogether  surprised,  for 

35 


The  Emerald  City  of    Oz 

she  had  clung  to  the  hope  that  Ozma  would  be  kind  enough 
to  grant  her  request.  When,  indeed,  had  her  powerful  and 
faithful  friend  refused  her  anything? 

"But  you  must  not  call  me  'Princess,'  "  she  said;  "for  after 
this  I  shall  live  on  the  little  farm  with  Uncle  Henry  and 
Aunt  Em,  and  princesses  ought  not  to  live  on  farms." 

"Princess  Dorothy  will  not,"  replied  Ozma,  with  her 
sweet  smile.  "You  are  going  to  live  in  your  own  rooms  in 
this  palace,  and  be  my  constant  companion." 

"But  Uncle  Henry  —  "  began  Dorothy. 

"Oh,  he  is  old,  and  has  worked  enough  in  his  lifetime," 
interrupted  the  girl  Ruler;  "so  we  must  find  a  place  for  your 
uncle  and  aunt  where  they  will  h<|  comfortable  and  happy 
and  need  not  work  more  than  they  care  to.  When  shall  we 
transport  them  here,  Dorothy?" 

"I  promised  to  go  and  see  them  again  before  they  were 
turned  out  of  the  farmhouse,"  answered  Dorothy;  "so — per 
haps  next  Saturday  —  " 

"But  why  wait  so  long?"  asked  Ozma.  "And  why  make 
the  journey  back  to  Kansas  again?  Let  us  surprise  them,  and 
bring  them  here  without  any  warning." 

"I  'm  not  sure  that  they  believe  in  the  Land  of  Oz,"  said 
Dorothy,  "though  I  've  told  'em  'bout  it  lots  of  times." 

:They  '11  believe  when  they  see  it,"  declared  Ozma;  "and 
if  they  are  told  they  are  to  make  a  magical  journey  to  our 

36 


Chapter  Three 


fairyland,  it  may  make  them  nervous.  I  think  the  best  way 
will  be  to  use  the  Magic  Belt  without  warning  them,  and 
when  they  have  arrived  you  can  explain  to  them  whatever 
they  do  not  understand." 

"Perhaps  that 's  best,"  decided  Dorothy.     "There  is  n't 


much  use  in  their  staying  at  the  farm  until  they  are  put  out, 
'cause  it 's  much  nicer  here." 

"Then  to-morrow  morning  they  shall  come  here,"  said 
Princess  Ozma.  "I  will  order  Jellia  Jamb,  who  is  the  palace 
housekeeper,  to  have  rooms  all  prepared  for  them,  and  after 
breakfast  we  will  get  the  Magic  Belt  and  by  its  aid  transport 
your  uncle  and  aunt  to  the  Emerald  City." 

37 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Thank  you,  Ozma!"  cried  Dorothy,  kissing  her  friend 
gratefully. 

"And  now,"  Ozma  proposed,  "let  us  take  a  walk  in  the 
gardens  before  we  dress  for  dinner.  Come,  Dorothy  dear!" 


to)  - 


THE  reason  most  people  are  bad  is  because  they  do  not  try 
to  be  good.  Now,  the  Nome  King  had  never  tried  to  be 
good,  so  he  was  very  bad  indeed.  Having  decided  to  con 
quer  the  Land  of  Oz  and  to  destroy  the  Emerald  City  and 
enslave  all  its  people,  King  Roquat  the  Red  kept  planning 
ways  to  do  this  dreadful  thing,  and  the  more  he  planned  the 
more  he  believed  he  would  be  able  to  accomplish  it. 

About  the  time  Dorothy  went  to  Ozma  the  Nome  King 
called  his  Chief  Steward  to  him  and  said : 

"Kaliko,  I  think  I  shall  make  you  the  General  of  my 
armies." 

"I  think  you  won't,"  replied  Kaliko,  positively. 

"Why  not?'  inquired  the  King,  reaching  for  his  scepter 
with  the  big  sapphire. 

"Because  I  'm  your  Chief  Steward,  and  know  nothing  of 

39 


The  Emerald  Ci  ty  of  O  z 

warfare,"  said  Kaliko,  preparing  to  dodge  if  anything  were 
thrown  at  him.  "I  manage  all  the  affairs  of  your  kingdom 
better  than  you  could  yourself,  and  you  '11  never  find  an 
other  Steward  as  good  as  I  am.  But  there  are  a  hundred 
Nomes  better  fitted  to  command  your  army,  and  your  Gen 
erals  get  thrown  away  so  often  that  I  have  no  desire  to  be 
one  of  them." 

"Ah,  there  is  some  truth  in  your  remarks,  Kaliko,"  re 
marked  the  King,  deciding  not  to  throw  the  scepter.  "Sum 
mon  my  army  to  assemble  in  the  Great  Cavern." 

Kaliko  bowed  and  retired,  and  in  a  few  minutes  returned 
to  say  that  the  army  was  assembled.  So  the  King  went  out 
upon  a  balcony  that  overlooked  the  Great  Cavern,  where 
fifty  thousand  Nomes,  all  armed  with  swords  and  pikes,  stood 
marshaled  in  military  array. 

When  they  were  not  required  as  soldiers  all  these  Nomes 
were  metal  workers  and  miners,  and  they  had  hammered  so 
much  at  the  forges  and  dug  so  hard  with  pick  and  shovel 
that  they  had  acquired  great  muscular  strength.  They  were 
strangely  formed  creatures,  rather  round  and  not  very  tall. 
Their  toes  were  curly  and  their  ears  broad  and  flat. 

In  time  of  war  every  Nome  left  his  forge  or  mine  and  be 
came  part  of  the  great  army  of  King  Roquat.  The  soldiers 
wore  rock-colored  uniforms  and  were  excellently  drilled. 

The  King  looked  upon  this  tremendous  army,  which 

40 


Ch apter  Four 


stood  silently  arrayed  before  him,  and  a  cruel  smile  curled 
the  corners  of  his  mouth,  for  he  saw  that  his  legions  were 
very  powerful.  Then  he  addressed  them  from  the  balcony, 
saying: 

"I  have  thrown  away  General  Blug,  because  he  did  not 
please  me.  So  I  want  another  General  to  command  this 
army.  Who  is  next  in  command?" 

"I  am,"  replied  Colonel  Crinkle,  a  dapper-looking  Nome, 
as  he  stepped  forward  to  salute  his  monarch. 

The  King  looked  at  him  carefully  and  said : 
"I  want  you  to  march  this  army  through  an  underground 
tunnel,  which  I  am  going  to  bore,  to  the  Emerald  City  of  Oz. 
When  you  get  there  I  want  you  to  conquer  the  Oz  people, 
destroy  them  and  their  city,  and  bring  all  their  gold  and 
silver  and  precious  stones  back  to  my  cavern.  Also  you  are 
to  recapture  my  Magic  Belt  and  return  it  to  me.  Will  you 
do  this,  General  Crinkle?' 

"No,  your  Majesty,"  replied  the  Nome;  "for  it  can't  be 
done." 

"Oh,  indeed!"  exclaimed  the  King.  Then  he  turned  to 
his  servants  and  said :  "Please  take  General  Crinkle  to  the 
torture  chamber.  There  you  will  kindly  slice  him  into  thin 
slices.  Afterward  you  may  feed  him  to  the  seven-headed 
dogs." 

41 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Anything  to  oblige  your  Majesty,"  replied  the  servants, 
politely,  and  led  the  condemned  pian  away. 

When  they  had  gone  the  King  addressed  the  army  again. 

"Listen!"  said  he.  "The  General  who  is  to  command 
my  armies  must  promise  to  carry  out  my  orders.  If  he  fails 
he  will  share  the  fate  of  poor  Crinkle.  Now,  then,  who  will 
volunteer  to  lead  my  hosts  to  the  Emerald  City?" 

For  a  time  no  one  moved  and  all  were  silent.  Then  an 
old  Nome  with  white  whiskers  so  long  that  they  were  tied 
around  his  waist  to  prevent  their  tripping  him  up,  stepped 
out  of  the  ranks  and  saluted  the  King. 

"I  Jd  like  to  ask  a  few  questions,  your  Majesty,"  he  said. 

"Go  ahead,"  replied  the  King. 

"These  Oz  people  are  quite  good,  are  they  not?" 

"As  good  as  apple  pie,"  said  the  King. 

"And  they  are  happy,  I  suppose?"  continued  the  old 
Nome. 

"Happy  as  the  day  is  long,"  said  the  King. 

"And  contented  and  prosperous?"  inquired  the  Nome. 

"Very  much  so,"  said  the  King. 

"Well,  your  Majesty,"  remarked  he  of  the  white 
whiskers,  "I  think  I  should  like  to  undertake  the  job,  so  I  '11 
be  your  General.  I  hate  good  people;  I  detest  happy  peo 
ple;  I  'm  opposed  to  any  one  who  is  contented  and  prosper 
ous.  That  is  why  I  am  so  fond  of  your  Majesty.  Make  me 

42 


Chapter  Four 


your  General  and  I  '11  promise  to  conquer  and  destroy  the 
Oz  people.  If  I  fail  I  'm  ready  to  be  sliced  thin  and  fed  to 
the  seven-headed  dogs." 

"Very  good!    Very  good,  indeed!    That  's  the  way  to 
talk!"   cried   Roquat  the   Red,   who  was  greatly  pleased. 


"What  is  your  name,  General?' 

"1 'm  called  Guph,  your  Majesty." 

"Well,  Guph,  come  with  me  to  my  private  cave  and  we  '11 
talk  it  over."  Then  he  turned  to  the  army.  "Nomes  and 
soldiers,"  said  he,  "you  are  to  obey  the  commands  of  General 
Guph  until  he  becomes  dog- feed.  Any  man  who  fails  to  obey 

43 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

his  new  General  will  be  promptly  thrown  away.  You  are 
now  dismissed." 

Guph  went  to  the  King's  private  cave  and  sat  down  upon 
an  amethyst  chair  and  put  his  feet  on  the  arm  of  the  King's 
ruby  throne.  Then  he  lighted  his  pipe  and  threw  the  live 
coal  he  had  taken  from  his  pocket  upon  the  King's  left  foot 
and  puffed  the  smoke  into  the  King's  eyes  and  made  him 
self  comfortable.  For  he  was  a  wise  old  Nome,  and  he  knew 
that  the  best  way  to  get  along  with  Roquat  the  Red  was  to 
show  that  he  was  not  afraid  of  him. 

"I  'm  ready  for  the  talk,  your  Majesty,"  he  said. 

The  King  coughed  and  looked  at  his  new  General  fiercely. 

"Do  you  not  tremble  to  take  such  liberties  with  your 
monarch?"  he  asked. 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Guph,  calmly,  and  he  blew  a  wreath  of 
smoke  that  curled  around  the  King's  nose  and  made  him 
sneeze.  "You  want  to  conquer  the  Emerald  City,  and  I  'm 
the  only  Nome  in  all  your  dominions  who  can  conquer  it. 
So  you  will  be  very  careful  not  to  hurt  me  until  I  have  car 
ried  out  your  wishes.  After  that— 

"Well,  what  then?'  inquired  the  King. 

"Then  you  will  be  so  grateful  to  me  that  you  won't  care 
to  hurt  me,"  replied  the  General. 

'That  is  a  very  good  argument,"  said  Roquat.  "But 
suppose  you  fail?' 

44 


Chapter  Four 


"Then  it  's  the  slicing  machine.     I  agree  to  that,"  an 
nounced  Guph.    "But  if  you  do  as  I  tell  you  there  will  he  no 


failure.     The  trouble  with  you,  Roquat,  is  that  you 
think  carefully  enough.     I  do.     You  would  go  ahead  and 
march  through  your  tunnel  into  Oz,  and  get  defeated  and 


driven  back.  I  won't.  And  the  reason  I  won't  is  because 
when  I  march  I  '11  have  all  my  plans  made,  and  a  host  of  al 
lies  to  assist  my  Nomes." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  that?"  asked  the  King. 

"I  '11  explain,  King  Roquat.  You  're  going  to  attack  a 
fair  country,  and  a  mighty  fairy  country,  too.  They  have  n't 
much  of  an  army  in  Oz,  but  the  Princess  who  rules  them  has 

45 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

a  fairy  wand;  and  the  little  girl  Dorothy  has  your  Magic 
Belt;  and  at  the  North  of  the  Emerald  City  lives  a  clever 
sorceress  called  Glinda  the  Good,  who  commands  the  spirits 
of  the  air.  Also  I  have  heard  that  there  is  a  wonderful  Wiz 
ard  in  Ozma's  palace,  who  is  so  skillful  that  people  used  to 
pay  him  money  in  America  to  see  him  perform.  So  you  see 
it  will  be  no  easy  thing  to  overcome  all  this  magic." 

"We  have  fifty  thousand  soldiers!"  cried  the  King, 
proudly. 

"Yes;  but  they  are  Nomes,"  remarked  Guph,  taking  a 
silk  handkerchief  from  the  King's  pocket  and  wiping  his  own 
pointed  shoes  with  it.  "Nomes  are  immortals,  but  they  are 
not  strong  on  magic.  When  you  lost  your  famous  Belt  the 
greater  part  of  your  own  power  was  gone  from  you.  Against 
Ozma  you  and  your  Nomes  would  have  no  show  at  all." 

Roquat's  eyes  flashed  angrily. 

'Then  away  you  go  to  the  slicing  machine!"  he  cried. 

"Not  yet,"  said  the  General,  filling  his  pipe  from  the 
King's  private  tobacco  pouch. 

"What  do  you  propose  to  do?"  asked  the  monarch. 

"I  propose  to  obtain  the  power  we  need,"  answered  Guph. 
'There  are  a  good  many  evil  creatures  who  have  magic  pow 
ers  sufficient  to  destroy  and  conquer  the  Land  of  Oz.  We 
will  get  them  on  our  side,  band  them  all  together,  and  then 
take  Ozma  and  her  people  by  surprise.  It 's  all  very  simple 


Chapter  Four 


and  easy  when  you  know  how.  Alone  we  should  be  helpless 
to  injure  the  Ruler  of  Oz,  but  with  the  aid  of  the  evil  powers 
we  can  summon  we  shall  easily  succeed." 

King  Roquat  was  delighted  with  this  idea,  for  he  realized 
how  clever  it  was. 

"Surely,  Guph,  you  are  the  greatest  General  I  have  ever 
had!"  he  exclaimed,  his  eyes  sparkling  with  joy.  "You  must 
go  at  once  and  make  arrangements  with  the  evil  powers  to 
assist  us,  and  meantime  I  '11  begin  to  dig  the  tunnel." 

"I  thought  you  'd  agree  with  me,  Roquat,"  replied  the 
new  General.  "I  '11  start  this  very  afternoon  to  visit  the 
Chief  of  the  Whimsies." 


47 


WHEN  the  people  of  the  Emerald  City  heard  that  Dorothy 
had  returned  to  them  every  one  was  eager  to  see  her,  for  the 
little  girl  was  a  general  favorite  in  the  Land  of  Oz.  From 
time  to  time  some  of  the  folk  from  the  great  outside  world 
had  found  their  way  into  this  fairyland,  but  all  except  one 
had  been  companions  of  Dorothy  and  had  turned  out  to  be 
very  agreeable  people.  The  exception  I  speak  of  was  the 
wonderful  Wizard  of  Oz,  a  sleight-of-hand  performer  from 
Omaha  who  went  up  in  a  balloon  and  was  carried  by  a  cur 
rent  of  air  to  the  Emerald  City.  His  queer  and  puzzling 
tricks  made  the  people  of  Oz  believe  him  a  great  wizard  for 
a  time,  and  he  ruled  over  them  until  Dorothy  arrived  on  her 
first  visit  and  showed  the  Wizard  to  be  a  mere  humbug.  He 
was  a  gentle,  kindly-hearted  little  man,  and  Dorothy  grew 
to  like  him  afterward.  When,  after  an  absence,  the  Wizard 


Chapter  Five 


returned  to  the  Land  of  Oz,  Ozma  received  him  graciously 
and  gave  him  a  home  in  a  part  of  the  palace. 

In  addition  to  the  Wizard  two  other  personages  from 
the  outside  world  had  been  allowed  to  make  their  home  in 
the  Emerald  City.  The  first  was  a  quaint  Shaggy  Man, 
whom  Ozma  had  made  the  Governor  of  the  Royal  Store 
houses,  and  the  second  a  Yellow  Hen  named  Billina,  who 
had  a  fine  house  in  the  gardens  back  of  the  palace,  where 
she  looked  after  a  large  family.  Both  these  had  been  old 
comrades  of  Dorothy,  so  you  see  the  little  girl  was  quite  an 
important  personage  in  Oz,  and  the  people  thought  she  had 
brought  them  good  luck,  and  loved  her  next  best  to  Ozma. 
During  her  several  visits  this  little  girl  had  been  the  means 
of  destroying  two  wicked  witches  who  oppressed  the  people, 
and  she  had  discovered  a  live  scarecrow  who  was  now  one 
of  the  most  popular  personages  in  all  the  fairy  country.  With 
the  Scarecrow's  help  she  had  rescued  Nick  Chopper,  a  Tin 
Woodman,  who  had  rusted  in  a  lonely  forest,  and  the  tin 
man  was  now  the  Emperor  of  the  Country  of  the  Winkies 
and  much  beloved  because  of  his  kind  heart.  No  wonder 
the  people  thought  Dorothy  had  brought  them  good  luck! 
Yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  she  had  accomplished  all  these 
wonders  not  because  she  was  a  fairy  or  had  any  magical  pow 
ers  whatever,  but  because  she  was  a  simple,  sweet  and  true 
little  girl  who  was  honest  to  herself  and  to  all  whom  she 

49 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

met.  In  this  world  in  which  we  live  simplicity  and  kindness 
are  the  only  magic  wands  that  work  wonders,  and  in  the  Land 
of  Oz  Dorothy  found  these  same  qualities  had  won  for  her 
the  love  and  admiration  of  the  people.  Indeed,  the  little 
girl  had  made  many  warm  friends  in  the  fairy  country,  and 
the  only  real  grief  the  Ozites  had  ever  experienced  was  when 
Dorothy  left  them  and  returned  to  her  Kansas  home. 

Now  she  received  a  joyful  welcome,  although  no  one  ex 
cept  Ozma  knew  at  first  that  she  had  finally  come  to  stay  for 
good  and  all. 

That  evening  Dorothy  had  many  callers,  and  among  them 
were  such  important  people  as  Tiktok,  a  machine  man  who 
thought  and  spoke  and  moved  by  clockwork;  her  old  com 
panion  the  genial  Shaggy  Man;  Jack  Pumpkinhead,  whose 
body  was  brush-wood  and  whose  head  was  a  ripe  pumpkin 
with  a  face  carved  upon  it;  the  Cowardly  Lion  and  the  Hun 
gry  Tiger,  two  great  beasts  from  the  forest,  who  served  Prin 
cess  Ozma,  and  Professor  H.  M.  Wogglebug,  T.  E.  This 
wogglebug  was  a  remarkable  creature.  He  had  once  been  a 
tiny  little  bug,  crawling  around  in  a  school-room,  but  he  was 
discovered  and  highly  magnified  so  that  he  could  be  seen  more 
plainly,  and  while  in  this  magnified  condition  he  had  es 
caped.  He  had  always  remained  big,  and  he  dressed  like  a 
dandy  and  was  so  full  of  knowledge  and  information  (which 

50 


Chapter  Five 


are  distinct  acquirements) ,  that  he  had  been  made  a  Professor 
and  the  head  of  the  Royal  College. 

Dorothy  had  a  nice  visit  with  these  old  friends,  and  also 
talked  a  long  time  with  the  Wizard,  who  was  little  and  old 
and  withered  and  dried  up,  but  as  merry  and  active  as  a 
child.  Afterward  she  went  to  see  Billina's  fast  growing 
family  of  chicks. 

Toto,  Dorothy's  little  black  dog,  also  met  with  a  cordial 
reception.  Toto  was  an  especial  friend  of  the  Shaggy  Man, 
and  he  knew  every  one  else.  Being  the  only  dog  in  the  Land 
of  Oz,  he  was  highly  respected  by  the  people,  who  believed 
animals  entitled  to  every  consideration  if  they  behaved 
themselves  properly. 

Dorothy  had  four  lovely  rooms  in  the  palace,  which  were 
always  reserved  for  her  use  and  were  called  "Dorothy's 
rooms."  These  consisted  of  a  beautiful  sitting  room,  a  dress 
ing  room,  a  dainty  bedchamber  and  a  big  marble  bathroom. 
And  in  these  rooms  were  everything  that  heart  could  desire, 
placed  there  with  loving  thoughtfulness  by  Ozma  for  her 
little  friend's  use.  The  royal  dressmakers  had  the  little 
girl's  measure,  so  they  kept  the  closets  in  her  dressing  room 
filled  with  lovely  dresses  of  every  description  and  suitable 
for  every  occasion.  No  wonder  Dorothy  had  refrained  from 
bringing  with  her  her  old  calico  and  gingham  dresses !  Here 
everything  that  was  dear  to  a  little  girl's  heart  was  supplied 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

in  profusion,  and  nothing  so  rich  and  beautiful  could  ever 
have  been  found  in  the  biggest  department  stores  in  America. 
Of  course  Dorothy  enjoyed  all  these  luxuries,  and  the  only 
reason  she  had  heretofore  preferred  to  live  in  Kansas  was 
because  her  uncle  and  aunt  loved  her  and  needed  her  with 
them. 

Now,  however,  all  was  to  be  changed,  and  Dorothy  was 
really  more  delighted  to  know  that  her  dear  relatives  were  to 
share  in  her  good  fortune  and  enjoy  the  delights  of  the  Land 
of  Oz,  than  she  was  to  possess  such  luxury  for  herself. 

Next  morning,  at  Ozma's  request,  Dorothy  dressed  her 
self  in  a  pretty  sky-blue  gown  of  rich  silk,  trimmed  with  real 
pearls.  The  buckles  of  her  shoes  were  set  with  pearls,  too, 
and  more  of  these  priceless  gems  were  on  a  lovely  coronet 
which  she  wore  upon  her  forehead. 

"For,"  said  her  friend  Ozma,  "from  this  time  forth,  my 
dear,  you  must  assume  your  rightful  rank  as  a  Princess  of 
Oz,  and  being  my  chosen  companion  you  must  dress  in  a 
way  befitting  the  dignity  of  your  position." 

Dorothy  agreed  to  this,  although  she  knew  that  neither 
gowns  nor  jewels  could  make  her  anything  else  than  the 
simple,  unaffected  little  girl  she  had  always  been. 

As  soon  as  they  had  breakfasted — the  girls  eatinb  u 
gether  in  Ozma's  pretty  boudoir — the  Ruler  of  Oz  said : 

"Now,  dear  friend,  we  will  use  the  Magic  Belt  to  trans- 

52 


Chapter  Five 


port  your  uncle  and  aunt  from  Kansas  to  the  Emerald  City. 
But  I  think  it  would  be  fitting,  in  receiving  such  distin 
guished  guests,  for  us  to  sit  in  my  Throne  Room." 

"Oh,  they  're  not  very  'stinguished,  Ozma,"  said  Doro 
thy.  "They  're  just  plain  people,  like  me." 

"Being  your  friends  and  relatives,  Princess  Dorothy, 
they  are  certainly  distinguished,"  replied  the  Ruler,  with  a 
smile. 

"They — they  won't  hardly  know  what  to  make  of  all 
your  splendid  furniture  and  things,"  protested  Dorothy, 
gravely.  "It  may  scare  'em  to  see  your  grand  Throne  Room, 
an'  p'raps  we  'd  better  go  into  the  back  yard,  Ozma,  where 
the  cabbages  grow  an'  the  chickens  are  playing.  Then  it 
would  seem  more  natural  to  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em." 

"No;  they  shall  first  see  me  in  my  Throne  Room,"  re 
plied  Ozma,  decidedly;  and  when  she  spoke  in  that  tone 
Dorothy  knew  it  was  not  wise  to  oppose  her,  for  Ozma  was 
accustomed  to  having  her  own  way. 

So  together  they  went  to  the  Throne  Room,  an  immense 
domed  chamber  in  the  center  of  the  palace.  Here  stood  the 
royal  throne,  made  of  solid  gold  and  encrusted  with  enough 
precious  stones  to  stock  a  dozen  jewelry  stores  in  our  coun 
try. 

Ozma,  who  was  wearing  the  Magic  Belt,  seated  herself 
in  the  throne,  and  Dorothy  sat  at  her  feet.  In  the  room  were 

53 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

assembled  many  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  court,  clothed 
in  rich  apparel  and  wearing  fine  jewelry.  Two  immense  ani 
mals  squatted,  one  on  each  side  of  the  throne — the  Cowardly 
Lion  and  the  Hungry  Tiger.  In  a  balcony  high  up  in  the 
dome  an  orchestra  played  sweet  music,  and  beneath  the  dome 
two  electric  fountains  sent  sprays  of  colored  perfumed  water 
shooting  up  nearly  as  high  as  the  arched  ceiling. 

"Are  you  ready,  Dorothy?"  asked  the  Ruler. 

"I  am,"  replied  Dorothy;  "but  I  don't  know  whether  Aunt 
Em  and  Uncle  Henry  are  ready." 

"That  won't  matter,"  declared  Ozma.  "The  old  life  can 
have  very  little  to  interest  them,  and  the  sooner  they  begin 
the  new  life  here  the  happier  they  will  be.  Here  they  come, 
my  dear!" 

As  she  spoke,  there  before  the  throne  appeared  Uncle 
Henry  and  Aunt  Em,  who  for  a  moment  stood  motionless, 
glaring  with  white  and  startled  faces  at  the  scene  that  con 
fronted  them.  If  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  present  had  not 
been  so  polite  I  am  sure  they  would  have  laughed  at  the  two 
strangers. 

Aunt  Em  had  her  calico  dress  skirt  "tucked  up,"  and  she 
wore  a  faded  blue-checked  apron.  Her  hair  was  rather 
straggly  and  she  had  on  a  pair  of  Uncle  Henry's  old  slippers. 
In  one  hand  she  held  a  dish-towel  and  in  the  other  a  cracked 
earthenware  plate,  which  she  had  been  engaged  in  wiping 
when  so  suddenly  transported  to  the  Land  of  Oz. 

54 


Chapter  Five 


Uncle  Henry,  when  the  summons  came,  had  been  out  in 
the  barn  "doin'  chores."  He  wore  a  ragged  and  much  soiled 
straw  hat,  a  checked  shirt  without  any  collar  and  blue  over 
alls  tucked  into  the  tops  of  his  old  cowhide  boots. 

"By  gum!"  gasped  Uncle  Henry,  looking  around  as  if 
bewildered. 

"Well,  I  swan!"  gurgled  Aunt  Em,  in  a  hoarse,  fright 
ened  voice.  Then  her  eyes  fell  upon  Dorothy,  and  she  said  : 
"D-d-d-don't  that  look  like  our  little  girl — our  Dorothy, 
Henry?" 

"Hi,  there — look  out,  Em!"  exclaimed  the  old  man,  as 
Aunt  Em  advanced  a  step;  "take  care  o'  the  wild  beastses, 
or  you  're  a  goner!" 

But  now  Dorothy  sprang  forward  and  embraced  and 
kissed  her  aunt  and  uncle  affectionately,  afterward  taking 
their  hands  in  her  own. 

"Don't  be  afraid,"  she  said  to  them.  "You  are  now  in 
the  Land  of  Oz,  where  you  are  to  live  always,  and  be  com- 
fer'ble  an'  happy.  You  '11  never  have  to  worry  over  any 
thing  again,  'cause  there  won't  be  anything  to  worry  about. 
And  you  owe  it  all  to  the  kindness  of  my  friend  Princess 
Ozma." 

Here  she  led  them  before  the  throne  and  continued  : 

"Your  Highness,  this  is  Uncle  Henry.  And  this  is  Aunt 
Em.  They  want  to  thank  you  for  bringing  them  here  from 
Kansas/' 

55 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

Aunt  Em  tried  to  "slick"  her  hair,  and  she  hid  the  dish- 
towel  and  dish  under  her  apron  while  she  bowed  to  the  lovely 
Ozma.  Uncle  Henry  took  off  his  straw  hat  and  held  it  awk 
wardly  in  his  hands. 

But  the  Ruler  of  Oz  rose  and  came  from  her  throne  to 
greet  her  newly  arrived  guests,  and  she  smiled  as  sweetly 
upon  them  as  if  they  had  been  a  king  and  a  queen. 

''You  are  very  welcome  here,  where  I  have  brought  you 
for  Princess  Dorothy's  sake,"  she  said,  graciously,  "and  I 
hope  you  will  be  quite  happy  in  your  new  home."  Then 
she  turned  to  her  courtiers,  who  were  silently  and  gravely 
regarding  the  scene,  and  added:  "I  present  to  my  people 
our  Princess  Dorothy's  beloved  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em, 
who  will  hereafter  be  subjects  of  our  kingdom.  It  will  please 
me  to  have  you  show  them  every  kindness  and  honor  in  your 
power,  and  to  join  me  in  making  them  happy  and  contented." 

Hearing  this,  all  those  assembled  bowed  low  and  respect 
fully  to  the  old  farmer  and  his  wife,  who  bobbed  their  own 
heads  in  return. 

"And  now,"  said  Ozma  to  them,  "Dorothy  will  show  you 
the  rooms  prepared  for  you.  I  hope  you  will  like  them,  and 
shall  expect  you  to  join  me  at  luncheon." 

So  Dorothy  led  her  relatives  away,  and  as  soon  as  they 
were  out  of  the  Throne  Room  and  alone  in  the  corridor  Aunt 
Em  squeezed  Dorothy's  hand  and  said: 

56 


Chapter  Five 


"Child,  child!  How  in  the  world  did  we  ever  get  here 
so  quick?  And  is  it  all  real?  And  are  we  to  stay  here,  as 
she  says?  And  what  does  it  all  mean,  anyhow?" 

Dorothy  laughed. 

"Why  did  n't  you  tell  us  what  you  were  goin'  to  do?" 


inquired  Uncle  Henry,  reproachfully.    "If  I  'd  known  about 
it  I  'd  'a  put  on  my  Sunday  clothes." 

"I  '11  'splain  ever' thing  as  soon  as  we  get  to  your  rooms," 
promised  Dorothy.  "You  're  in  great  luck,  Uncle  Henry 
and  Aunt  Em ;  an'  so  am  I !  And  oh !  I'm  so  happy  to  have 
got  you  here,  at  last!" 

57 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 


As  he  walked  by  the  little  girl's  side  Uncle  Henry  stroked 
his  whiskers  thoughtfully. 

f  'Pears  to  me,  Dorothy,  we  won't  make  bang-up  fairies," 
he  remarked. 

"An'  my  back  hair  looks  like  a  fright!"  wailed  Aunt  Em. 

"Never  mind,"  returned  the  little  girl,  reassuringly. 
"You  won't  have  anything  to  do  now  but  to  look  pretty,  Aunt 
Em;  an'  Uncle  Henry  won't  have  to  work  till  his  back  aches, 
that  's  certain." 

"Sure?"  they  asked,  wonderingly,  and  in  the  same 
breath. 

"Course  I  'm  sure,"  said  Dorothy.  "You  're  in  the  Fairy 
land  of  Oz,  now;  an'  what 's  more,  you  belong  to  it!" 


c 


THE  new  General  of  the  Nome  King's  army  knew  perfectly 
well  that  to  fail  in  his  plans  meant  death  for  him.  Yet  he 
was  not  at  all  anxious  or  worried.  He  hated  every  one  who 
was  good  and  longed  to  make  all  who  were  happy  unhappy. 
Therefore  he  had  accepted  this  dangerous  position  as  Gen 
eral  quite  willingly,  feeling  sure  in  his  evil  mind  that  he 
would  be  able  to  do  a  lot  of  mischief  and  finally  conquer  the 
Land  of  Oz. 

Yet  Guph  determined  to  be  careful,  and  to  lay  his  plans 
well,  so  as  not  to  fail.  He  argued  that  only  careless  people 
fail  in  what  they  attempt  to  do. 

The  mountains  underneath  which  the  Nome  King's  ex 
tensive  caverns  were  located  lay  grouped  just  north  of  the 
Land  of  Ev,  which  lay  directly  across  the  deadly  desert  to 
the  east  of  the  Land  of  Oz.  As  the  mountains  were  also  on 

59 


The   Emerald   City  of   Oz 

the  edge  of  the  desert  the  Nome  King  found  that  he  had 
only  to  tunnel  underneath  the  desert  to  reach  Ozma's  do 
minions.  He  did  not  wish  his  armies  to  appear  above  ground 
in  the  Country  of  the  Winkies,  which  was  the  part  of  the 
Land  of  Oz  nearest  to  King  Roquat's  own  country,  as  then 
the  people  would  give  the  alarm  and  enable  Ozma  to  fortify 
the  Emerald  City  and  assemble  an  army.  He  wanted  to 
take  all  the  Oz  people  by  surprise;  so  he  decided  to  run  the 
tunnel  clear  through  to  the  Emerald  City,  where  he  and  his 
hosts  could  break  through  the  ground  without  warning  and 
conquer  the  people  before  they  had  time  to  defend  them 
selves. 

. 

Roquat  the  Red  began  work  at  once  upon  his  tunnel, 
setting  a  thousand  miners  at  the  task  and  building  it  high  and 
broad  enough  for  his  armies  to  march  through  it  with  ease. 
The  Nomes  were  used  to  making  tunnels,  as  all  the  king 
dom  in  which  they  lived  was  under  ground;  so  they  made 
rapid  progress. 

While  this  work  was  going  on  General  Guph  started  out 
alone  to  visit  the  Chief  of  the  Whimsies. 

These  Whimsies  were  curious  people  who  lived  in  a  re 
tired  country  of  their  own.  They  had  large,  strong  bodies, 
but  heads  so  small  that  they  were  no  bigger  than  door-knobs. 
Of  course,  such  tiny  heads  could  not  contain  any  great 
amount  of  brains,  and  the  Whimsies  were  so  ashamed  of 

60 


Chapter  Six 


their  personal  appearance  and  lack  of  commonsense  that 
they  wore  big  heads,  made  of  pasteboard,  which  they  fas 
tened  over  their  own  little  heads.  On  these  pasteboard 
heads  they  sewed  sheep's  wool  for  hair,  and  the  wool  was 
colored  many  tints — pink,  green  and  lavender  being  the  fa 
vorite  colors. 

The  faces  of  these  false  heads  were  painted  in  many  ri 
diculous  ways,  according  to  the  whims  of  the  owners,  and 
these  big,  burly  creatures  looked  so  whimsical  and  absurd 
in  their  queer  masks  that  they  were  called  "Whimsies."  They 
foolishly  imagined  that  no  one  would  suspect  the  little  heads 
that  were  inside  the  imitation  ones,  not  knowing  that  it  is 
folly  to  try  to  appear  otherwise  than  as  nature  has  made  us. 

The  Chief  of  the  Whimsies  had  as  little  wisdom  as  the 
others,  and  had  been  chosen  chief  merely  because  none  among 
them  was  any  wiser  or  more  capable  of  ruling.  The  Whimsies 
were  evil  spirits  and  could  not  be  killed.  They  were  hated 
and  feared  by  every  one  and  were  known  as  terrible  fighters 
because  they  were  so  strong  and  muscular  and  had  not  sense 
enough  to  know  when  they  were  defeated. 

General  Guph  thought  the  Whimsies  would  be  a  great 
help  to  the  Nomes  in  the  conquest  of  Oz,  for  under  his  lead 
ership  they  could  be  induced  to  fight  as  long  so  they  could 
stand  up.  So  he  traveled  to  their  country  and  asked  to  see 

61 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

the  Chief,  who  lived  in  a  house  that  had  a  picture  of  his 
grotesque  false  head  painted  over  the  doorway. 

The  Chiefs  false  head  had  blue  hair,  a  turned-up  nose, 
and  a  mouth  that  stretched  half  across  the  face.  Big  green 
eyes  had  been  painted  upon  it,  but  in  the  center  of  the  chin 
were  two  small  holes  made  in  the  pasteboard,  so  that  the 
Chief  could  see  through  them  with  his  own  tiny  eyes;  for 
when  the  big  head  was  fastened  upon  his  shoulders  the  eyes 
in  his  own  natural  head  were  on  a  level  with  the  false  chin. 

Said  General  Guph  to  the  Chief  of  the  Whimsies : 

"We  Nomes  are  going  to  conquer  the  Land  of  Oz  and 
capture  our  King's  Magic  Belt,  which  the  Oz  people  stole 
from  him.     Then  we  are  going  to  plunder  and  destroy  the 
whole  country.    And  we  want  the  Whimsies  to  help  us." 
"Will  there  be  any  fighting?"  asked  the  Chief. 

"Plenty,"  replied  Guph. 

That  must  have  pleased  the  Chief,  for  he  got  up  and 
danced  around  the  room  three  times.  Then  he  seated  him 
self  again,  adjusted  his  false  head,  and  said: 

"We  have  no  quarrel  with  Ozma  of  Oz." 

"But  you  Whimsies  love  to  fight,  and  here  is  a  splendid 
chance  to  do  so,"  urged  Guph. 

"Wait  till  I  sing  a  song,"  said  the  Chief.  Then  he  lay 
back  in  his  chair  and  sang  a  foolish  song  that  did  not  seem 
to  the  General  to  mean  anything,  although  he  listened  care- 

62 


Chapter  Six 


fully.    When  he  had  finished,  the  Chief  Whimsie  looked  at 
him  through  the  holes  in  his  chin  and  asked: 

"What  reward  will  you  give  us  if  we  help  you?" 
The  General  was  prepared  for  this  question,  for  he  had 
been  thinking  the  matter  over  on  his  journey.    People  often 


do  a  good  deed  without  hope  of  reward,  but  for  an  evil  deed 
they  always  demand  payment. 

"When  we  get  our  Magic  Belt,"  he  made  reply,  "our 
King,  Roquat  the  Red,  will  use  its  power  to  give  every 
Whimsie  a  natural  head  as  big  and  fine  as  the  false  head  he 
now  wears.  Then  you  will  no  longer  be  ashamed  because 
your  big  strong  bodies  have  such  teenty-weenty  heads." 

63 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Oh!   Will  you  do  that?"  asked  the  Chief,  eagerly. 
"We  surely  will,"  promised  the  General. 
"I  '11  talk  to  my  people,"  said  the  Chief. 
So  he  called  a  meeting  of  all  the  Whimsies  and  told  them 
of  the  offer  made  by  the  Nomes.     The  creatures  were  de 


lighted  with  the  bargain,  and  at  once  agreed  to  fight  for  the 
Nome  King  and  help  him  to  conquer  Oz. 

One  Whimsie  alone  seemed  to  have  a  glimmer  of  sense, 
for  he  asked : 

"Suppose  we  fail  to  capture  the  Magic  Belt?  What 
will  happen  then,  and  what  good  will  all  our  fighting  do?" 


Chapter  Six 


But  they  threw  him  into  the  river  for  asking  foolish  ques 
tions,  and  laughed  when  the  water  ruined  his  pasteboard  head 
before  he  could  swim  out  again. 

So  the  compact  was  made  and  General  Guph  was  de 
lighted  with  his  success  in  gaining  such  powerful  allies. 

But  there  were  other  people,  too,  just  as  important  as 
the  Whimsies,  whom  the  clever  old  Nome  had  determined  to 
win  to  his  side. 


"THESE  are  your  rooms,"  said  Dorothy,  opening  a  door. 

Aunt  Em  drew  back  at  sight  of  the  splendid  furniture 
and  draperies. 

"Ain't  there  any  place  to  wipe  my  feet?"  she  asked. 

"You  will  soon  change  your  slippers  for  new  shoes,"  re 
plied  Dorothy.  "Don't  be  afraid,  Aunt  Em.  Here  is  where 
you  are  to  live,  so  walk  right  in  and  make  yourself  at  home." 

Aunt  Em  advanced  hesitatingly. 

"It  beats  the  Topeka  Hotel!"  she  cried,  admiringly. 
"But  this  place  is  too  grand  for  us,  child.  Can't  we  have 
some  back  room  in  the  attic,  that 's  more  in  our  class?" 

"No,"  said  Dorothy.  "You  've  got  to  live  here,  'cause 
Ozma  says  so.  And  all  the  rooms  in  this  palace  are  just 
as  fine  as  these,  and  some  are  better.  It  won't  do  any  good 
to  fuss,  Aunt  Em.  You  've  got  to  be  swell  and  high-toned 

66 


Chapter  Seven 


in  the  Land  of  Oz,  whether  you  want  to  or  not;  so  you  may 
as  well  make  up  your  mind  to  it." 

"It  's  hard  luck,"  replied  her  aunt,  looking  around  with 
an  awed  expression;  "but  folks  can  get  used  to  anything,  if 
they  try.  Eh,  Henry?" 

"Why,  as  to  that,"  said  Uncle  Henry,  slowly,  "I  b'lieve 
in  takin'  what  's  pervided  us,  an'  askin'  no  questions.  I  've 
traveled  some,  Em,  in  my  time,  and  you  hain't;  an'  that 
makes  a  difference  atween  us." 

Then  Dorothy  showed  them  through  the  rooms.  The 
first  was  a  handsome  sitting-room,  with  windows  opening 
upon  the  rose  gardens.  Then  came  separate  bedrooms  for 
Aunt  Em  and  Uncle  Henry,  with  a  fine  bathroom  between 
them.  Aunt  Em  had  a  pretty  dressing  room,  besides,  and 
Dorothy  opened  the  closets  and  showed  several  exquisite 
costumes  that  had  been  provided  for  her  aunt  by  the  royal 
dressmakers,  who  had  worked  all  night  to  get  them  ready. 
Everything  that  Aunt  Em  could  possibly  need  was  in  the 
drawers  and  closets,  and  her  dressing-table  was  covered  with 
engraved  gold  toilet  articles. 

Uncle  Henry  had  nine  suits  of  clothes,  cut  in  the  popular 
Munchkin  fashion,  with  knee-breeches,  silk  stockings  and 
low  shoes  with  jeweled  buckles.  The  hats  to  match  these 
costumes  had  pointed  tops  and  wide  brims  with  small  gold 
bells  around  the  edges.  His  shirts  were  of  fine  linen  with 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

frilled  bosoms,  and  his  vests  were  richly  embroidered  with 
colored  silks. 

Uncle  Henry  decided  that  he  would  first  take  a  bath  and 
then  dress  himself  in  a  blue  satin  suit  that  had  caught  his 
fancy.  He  accepted  his  good  fortune  with  calm  composure 
and  refused  to  have  a  servant  to  assist  him.  But  Aunt  Em 
was  "all  of  a  flutter,"  as  she  said,  and  it  took  Dorothy  and 
Jellia  Jamb,  the  housekeeper,  and  two  maids  a  long  time  to 
dress  her  and  do  up  her  hair  and  get  her  "rigged  like  a  popin 
jay,"  as  she  quaintly  expressed  it.  She  wanted  to  stop  and 
admire  everything  that  caught  her  eye,  and  she  sighed  con 
tinually  and  declared  that  such  finery  was  too  good  for  an 
old  country  woman,  and  that  she  never  thought  she  would 
have  to  "put  on  airs"  at  her  time  of  life. 

Finally  she  was  dressed,  and  when  they  went  into  the  sit 
ting-room  there  was  Uncle  Henry  in  his  blue  satin,  walking 
gravely  up  and  down  the  room.  He  had  trimmed  his  beard 
and  mustache  and  looked  very  dignified  and  respectable. 

"Tell  me,  Dorothy,"  he  said;  "do  all  the  men  here  wear 
duds  like  these?" 

"Yes,"  she  replied;  "all  'cept  the  Scarecrow  and  the 
Shaggy  Man — and  of  course  the  Tin  Woodman  and  Tiktok, 
who  are  made  of  metal.  You  '11  find  all  the  men  at  Ozma's 
court  dressed  just  as  you  are — only  perhaps  a  little  finer." 

"Henry,  you  look  like  a  play-actor,"  announced  Aunt 
Em,  looking  at  her  husband  critically. 

68 


Chapter  Seven 


"An'  you,  Em,  look  more  highfalutin'  than  a  peacock," 
he  replied. 

"I  guess  you  're  right,"  she  said,  regretfully;  "but  we  're 
helpless  victims  of  high-toned  royalty." 

Dorothy  was  much  amused. 


"Come  with  me,"  she  said,  "and  I  '11  show  you  'round  the 
palace," 

She  took  them  through  the  beautiful  rooms  and  in 
troduced  them  to  all  the  people  they  chanced  to  meet.  Also 
she  showed  them  her  own  pretty  rooms,  which  were  not  far 
from  their  own. 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"So  it 's  all  true,"  said  Aunt  Em,  wide-eyed  with  amaze 
ment,  "and  what  Dorothy  told  us  of  this  fairy  country  was 
plain  facts  instead  of  dreams !  But  where  are  all  the  strange 
creatures  you  used  to  know  here?' 

"Yes;  where  's  the  Scarecrow?"  inquired  Uncle  Henry. 

"Why,  he  's  just  now  away  on  a  visit  to  the  Tin  Wood 
man,  who  is  Emp'ror  of  the  Winkle  Country,"  answered  the 
little  girl.  "You  '11  see  him  when  he  comes  back,  and  you  're 
sure  to  like  him." 

"And  where  's  the  Wonderful  Wizard?"  asked  Aunt  Em. 

"You  '11  see  him  at  Ozma's  luncheon,  for  he  lives  in  this 
palace,"  was  the  reply. 

"And  Jack  Pumpkinhead?" 

"Oh,  he  lives  a  little  way  out  of  town,  in  his  own  pump 
kin  field.  We  '11  go  there  some  time  and  see  him,  and  we  '11 
call  on  Professor  Wogglebug,  too.  The  Shaggy  Man  will 
be  at  the  luncheon,  I  guess,  and  Tiktok.  And  now  I  '11  take 
you  out  to  see  Billina,  who  has  a  house  of  her  own." 

So  they  went  into  the  back  yard,  and  after  walking  along 
winding  paths  some  distance  through  the  beautiful  gardens 
they  came  to  an  attractive  little  house  where  the  Yellow 
Hen  sat  on  the  front  porch  sunning  herself. 

"Good  morning,  my  dear  Mistress,"  called  Billina,  flut 
tering  down  to  meet  them.  "I  was  expecting  you  to  call,  for 
I  heard  you  had  come  back  and  brought  your  uncle  and  aunt 
with  you." 

70 


Chapter  Seven 


"We  're  here  for  good  and  all,  this  time,  Billina,"  cried 
Dorothy,  joyfully.  ' 'Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  belong  in 
Oz  now  as  much  as  I  do!" 

"Then  they  are  very  lucky  people,"  declared  Billina;  "for 
there  could  n't  be  a  nicer  place  to  live.  But  come,  my  dear; 
I  must  show  you  all  my  Dorothys.  Nine  are  living  and  have 
grown  up  to  be  very  respectable  hens;  but  one  took  cold  at 
Ozma's  birthday  party  and  died  of  the  pip,  and  the  other 
two  turned  out  to  be  horrid  roosters,  so  I  had  to  change  their 
names  from  Dorothy  to  Daniel.  They  all  had  the  letter  CD' 
engraved  upon  their  gold  lockets,  you  remember,  with  your 
picture  inside,  and  T)'  stands  for  Daniel  as  well  as  for  Dor 
othy." 

"Did  you  call  both  the  roosters  Daniel?"  asked  Uncle 
Henry. 

uYes,  indeed.  I  've  nine  Dorothys  and  two  Daniels;  and 
the  nine  Dorothys  have  eighty-six  sons  and  daughters  and 
over  three  hundred  grandchildren,"  said  Billina,  proudly. 

"What  names  do  you  give  'em  all,  dear?"  inquired  the 
little  girl. 

"Oh,  they  are  all  Dorothys  and  Daniels,  some  being  Ju 
niors  and  some  Double-Juniors.  Dorothy  and  Daniel  are 
two  good  names,  and  I  see  no  object  in  hunting  for  others," 
declared  the  Yellow  Hen.  "But  just  think,  Dorothy,  what 
a  big  chicken  family  we  've  grown  to  be,  and  our  numbers  in- 

71 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

crease  nearly  every  day!  Ozma  does  n't  know  what  to  do 
with  all  the  eggs  we  lay,  and  we  are  never  eaten  or  harmed 
in  any  way,  as  chickens  are  in  your  country.  They  give  us 
everything  to  make  us  contented  and  happy,  and  I,  my  dear, 
am  the  acknowledged  Queen  and  Governor  of  every  chicken 
in  Oz,  because  I  'm  the  eldest  and  started  the  whole  colony." 

"You  ought  to  be  very  proud,  ma'am,"  said  Uncle  Henry, 
who  was  astonished  to  hear  a  hen  talk  so  sensibly. 

"Oh,  I  am,"  she  replied.  "I  've  the  loveliest  pearl  neck 
lace  you  ever  saw.  Come  in  the  house  and  I  '11  show  it  to 
you.  And  I  've  nine  leg  bracelets  and  a  diamond  pin  for  each 
wing.  But  I  only  wear  them  on  state  occasions." 

They  followed  the  Yellow  Hen  into  the  house,  which 
Aunt  Em  declared  was  neat  as  a  pin.  They  could  not  sit 
down,  because  all  Billina's  chairs  were  roosting-poles  made  of 
silver;  so  they  had  to  stand  while  the  hen  fussily  showed  them 
her  treasures. 

Then  they  had  to  go  into  the  back  rooms  occupied  by 
Billina's  nine  Dorothys  and  two  Daniels,  who  were  all  plump 
yellow  chickens  and  greeted  the  visitors  very  politely.  It 
was  easy  to  see  that  they  were  well  bred  and  that  Billina 
had  looked  after  their  education. 

In  the  yards  were  all  the  children  and  grandchildren  of 
these  eleven  elders  and  they  were  of  all  sizes,  from  well- 
grown  hens  to  tiny  chickens  just  out  of  the  shell.  About 

72 


Chap  ter  Seven 


fifty  fluffy  yellow  youngsters  were  at  school,  being  taught 
good  manners  and  good  grammar  by  a  young  hen  who  wore 
spectacles.  They  sang  in  chorus  a  patriotic  song  of  the  Land 
of  Oz,  in  honor  of  their  visitors,  and  Aunt  Em  was  much  im 
pressed  by  these  talking  chickens. 

Dorothy  wanted  to  stay  and  play  with  the  young  chick 
ens  for  awhile,  but  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  had  not  seen 
the  palace  grounds  and  gardens  yet  and  were  eager  to  get 
better  acquainted  with  the  marvelous  and  delightful  land 
in  which  they  were  to  live. 

"I  '11  stay  here,  and  you  can  go  for  a  walk,"  said  Dorothy. 
"You  '11  be  perfec'ly  safe  anywhere,  and  may  do  whatever 
you  want  to.  When  you  get  tired,  go  back  to  the  palace  and 
find  your  rooms,  and  I  '11  come  to  you  before  luncheon  is 
ready." 

So  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  started  out  alone  to  ex 
plore  the  grounds,  and  Dorothy  knew  that  they  could  n't  get 
lost,  because  all  the  palace  grounds  were  enclosed  by  a  high 
wall  of  green  marble  set  with  emeralds. 

It  was  a  rare  treat  to  these  simple  folk,  who  had  lived  in 
the  country  all  their  lives  and  known  little  enjoyment  of 
any  sort,  to  wear  beautiful  clothes  and  live  in  a  palace  and 
be  treated  with  respect  and  consideration  by  all  around  them. 
They  were  very  happy  indeed  as  they  strolled  up  the  shady 
walks  and  looked  upon  the  gorgeous  flowers  and  shrubs,  feel- 

73 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

ing  that  their  new  home  was  more  beautiful  than  any  tongue 
could  describe. 

Suddenly,  as  they  turned  a  corner  and  walked  through  a 
gap  in  a  high  hedge,  they  came  face  to  face  with  an  enormous 
Lion,  which  crouched  upon  the  green  lawn  and  seemed  sur 
prised  by  their  appearance. 

They  stopped  short,  Uncle  Henry  trembling  with  horror 
and  Aunt  Em  too  terrified  to  scream.  Next  moment  the  poor 
woman  clasped  her  husband  around  the  neck  and  cried : 

"Save  me,  Henry,  save  me!" 

"Can't  even  save  myself,  Em,"  he  returned,  in  a  husky 
voice,  "for  the  animile  looks  as  if  it  could  eat  both  of  us,  an' 
lick  its  chops  for  more !  If  I  only  had  a  gun — " 

"Have  n't  you,  Henry?  Have  n't  you?"  she  asked  anx 
iously. 

"Nary  gun,  Em.  So  let 's  die  as  brave  an'  graceful  as  we 
can.  I  knew  our  luck  could  n't  last!" 

"I  won't  die.  I  won't  be  eaten  by  a  lion!"  wailed  Aunt 
Em,  glaring  upon  the  huge  beast.  Then  a  thought  struck 
her,  and  she  whispered:  "Henry,  I  've  heard  as  savage 
beastses  can  be  conquered  by  the  human  eye.  I  '11  eye  that 
lion  out  o'  countenance  an'  save  our  lives." 

"Try  it,  Em,"  he  returned,  also  in  a  whisper.  "Look  at 
him  as  you  do  at  me  when  I  'm  late  to  dinner." 

Aunt  Em  turned  upon  the  Lion  a  determined  countenance 

74 


Chapter  Seven 


and  a  wild  dilated  eye.  She  glared  at  the  immense  beast 
steadily,  and  the  Lion,  who  had  been  quietly  blinking  at 
them,  began  to  appear  uneasy  and  disturbed. 

"Is  anything  the  matter,  ma'am?"  he  asked,  in  a  mild 
voice. 

At  this  speech  from  the  terrible  beast  Aunt  Em  and 
Uncle  Henry  both  were  startled,  and  then  Uncle  Henry  re 
membered  that  this  must  be  the  Lion  they  had  seen  in  Ozma's 
Throne  Room. 

"Hold  on,  Em!"  he  exclaimed.  "Quit  the  eagle  eye  con 
quest  an'  take  courage.  I  guess  this  is  the  same  Cowardly 
Lion  Dorothy  has  told  us  about." 

"Oh,  is  it?"  she  asked,  much  relieved. 

"When  he  spoke,  I  got  the  idea;  and  when  he  looked  so 
'shamed  like,  I  was  sure  of  it,"  Uncle  Henry  continued. 

Aunt  Em  regarded  the  animal  with  new  interest. 

"Are  you  the  Cowardly  Lion?"  she  inquired.  "Are  you 
Dorothy's  friend?" 

"Yes  'm,"  answered  the  Lion,  meekly.  "Dorothy  and  I 
are  old  chums  and  are  very  fond  of  each  other.  I  'm  the  King 
of  Beasts,  you  know,  and  the  Hungry  Tiger  and  I  serve 
Princess  Ozma  as  her  body  guards." 

"To  be  sure,"  said  Aunt  Em,  nodding.  "But  the  King 
of  Beasts  should  n't  be  cowardly." 

"I  've  heard  that  said  before,"  remarked  the  Lion,  yawn- 

75 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

ing  till  he  showed  his  two  great  rows  of  sharp  white  teeth; 
"but  that  does  not  keep  me  from  being  frightened  whenever 
I  go  into  battle." 

"What  do  you  do,  run?"  asked  Uncle  Henry. 

"No;  that  would  be  foolish,  for  the  enemy  would  run 
after  me,"  declared  the  Lion.  "So  I  tremble  with  fear  and 
pitch  in  as  hard  as  I  can;  and  so  far  I  have  always  won  my 
fight." 

"Ah,  I  begin  to  understand,"  said  Uncle  Henry. 

"Were  you  scared  when  I  looked  at  you  just  now?"  in 
quired  Aunt  Em. 

"Terribly  scared,  madam,"  answered  the  Lion,  "for  at 
first  I  thought  you  were  going  to  have  a  fit.  Then  I  noticed 
you  were  trying  to  overcome  me  by  the  power  of  your  eye, 
and  your  glance  was  so  fierce  and  penetrating  that  I  shook 
with  fear." 

This  greatly  pleased  the  lady,  and  she  said  quite  cheer 
fully: 

"Well,  I  won't  hurt  you,  so  don't  be  scared  any  more.  I 
just  wanted  to  see  what  the  human  eye  was  good  for." 

"The  human  eye  is  a  fearful  weapon,"  remarked  the  Lion, 
scratching  his  nose  softly  with  his  paw  to  hide  a  smile.  "Had 
I  not  known  you  were  Dorothy's  friends  I  might  have  torn 
you  both  into  shreds  in  order  to  escape  your  terrible  gaze." 

Aunt  Em  shuddered  at  hearing  this,  and  Uncle  Henry 
said  hastily: 

76 


Chapter  Seven 


"I  'm  glad  you  knew  us.  Good  morning,  Mr.  Lion;  we  '11 
hope  to  see  you  again — by  and  by — some  time  in  the  future." 

"Good  morning,"  replied  the  Lion,  squatting  down  upon 
the  lawn  again.  :<You  are  likely  to  see  a  good  deal  of  me, 
if  you  live  in  the  Land  of  Oz." 


77 


AFTER  leaving  the  Whimsies,  Guph  continued  on  his  jour 
ney  and  penetrated  far  into  the  Northwest.  He  wanted  to 
get  to  the  Country  of  the  Growleywogs,  and  in  order  to  do 
that  he  must  cross  the  Ripple  Land,  which  was  a  hard  thing 
to  do.  For  the  Ripple  Land  was  a  succession  of  hills  and 
valleys,  all  very  steep  and  rocky,  and  they  changed  places 
constantly  by  rippling.  While  Guph  was  climbing  a  hill 
it  sank  down  under  him  and  became  a  valley,  and  while  he 
was  descending  into  a  valley  it  rose  up  and  carried  him  to 
the  top  of  a  hill.  This  was  very  perplexing  to  the  traveler, 
and  a  stranger  might  have  thought  he  could  never  cross 
the  Ripple  Land  at  all.  But  Guph  knew  that  if  he  kept 
steadily  on  he  would  get  to  the  end  at  last;  so  he  paid  no  at 
tention  to  the  changing  hills  and  valleys  and  plodded  along 
as  calmly  as  if  walking  upon  the  level  ground. 


Chapter  Eight 


The  result  of  this  wise  persistence  was  that  the  General 
finally  reached  firmer  soil  and,  after  penetrating  a  dense  for 
est,  came  to  the  Dominion  of  the  Growleywogs. 

No  sooner  had  he  crossed  the  border  of  this  domain  when 
two  guards  seized  him  and  carried  him  before  the  Grand  Gal- 
lipoot  of  the  Growleywogs,  who  scowled  upon  him  feroci 
ously  and  asked  him  why  he  dared  intrude  upon  his  territory. 

"I  'm  the  Lord  High  General  of  the  Invincible  Army  of 
the  Nomes,  and  my  name  is  Guph,"  was  the  reply.  "All  the 
world  trembles  when  that  name  is  mentioned." 

The  Growleywogs  gave  a  shout  of  jeering  laughter  at 
this,  and  one  of  them  caught  the  Nome  in  his  strong  arms 
and  tossed  him  high  into  the  air.  Guph  was  considerably 
shaken  when  he  fell  upon  the  hard  ground,  but  he  appeared 
to  take  no  notice  of  the  impertinence  and  composed  himself 
to  speak  again  to  the  Grand  Gallipoot. 

"My  master,  King  Roquat  the  Red,  has  sent  me  here  to 
confer  with  you.  He  wishes  your  assistance  to  conquer  the 
Land  of  Oz." 

Here  the  General  paused,  and  the  -Grand  Gallipoot 
scowled  upon  him  more  terribly  than  ever  and  said : 

"Goon!" 

The  voice  of  the  Grand  Gallipoot  was  partly  a  roar  and 
partly  a  growl.  He  mumbled  his  words  badly  and  Guph  had 
to  listen  carefully  in  order  to  understand  him. 

79 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

These  Growleywogs  were  certainly  remarkable  creatures. 
They  were  of  gigantic  size,  yet  were  all  bone  and  skin  and 
muscle,  there  being  no  meat  or  fat  upon  their  bodies  at  all. 
Their  powerful  muscles  lay  just  underneath  their  skins,  like 
bunches  of  tough  rope,  and  the  weakest  Growleywog  was 
so  strong  that  he  could  pick  up  an  elephant  and  toss  it  seven 
miles  away. 

It  seems  unfortunate  that  strong  people  are  usually  so 
disagreeable  and  overbearing  that  no  one  cares  for  them.  In 
fact,  to  be  different  from  your  fellow  creatures  is  always  a 
misfortune.  The  Growleywogs  knew  that  they  were  dis 
liked  and  avoided  by  every  one,  so  they  had  become  surly  and 
unsociable  even  among  themselves.  Guph  knew  that  they 
hated  all  people,  including  the  Nomes ;  but  he  hoped  to  win 
them  over,  nevertheless,  and  knew  that  if  he  succeeded  they 
would  afford  him  very  powerful  assistance. 

"The  Land  of  Oz  is  ruled  by  a  namby-pamby  girl  who 
is  disgustingly  kind  and  good,"  he  continued.  "Her  people 
are  all  happy  and  contented  and  have  no  care  or  worries  what 


ever.'3 


"Go  on!"  growled  the  Grand  Gallipoot. 

"Once  the  Nome  King  enslaved  the  Royal  Family  of  Ev 

—another  goody-goody  lot  that  we  detest,"  said  the  General, 

"But  Ozma  interfered,  although  it  was  none  of  her  business, 

and  marched  her  army  against  us.    With  her  was  a  Kansas 

80 


The  Emerald   City  of  Oz 


girl  named  Dorothy,  and  a  Yellow  Hen,  and  they  marched 
directly  into  the  Nome  King's  cavern.  There  they  liberated 
our  slaves  from  Ev  and  stole  King  Roquat's  Magic  Belt, 
which  they  carried  away  with  them.  So  now  our  King  is 
making  a  tunnel  under  the  deadly  desert,  so  we  can  march 
through  it  to  the  Emerald  City.  When  we  get  there  we 
mean  to  conquer  and  destroy  all.  the  land  and  recapture  the 
Magic  Belt." 

Again  he  paused,  and  again  the  Grand  Gallipoot 
growled  : 

"Goon!" 

Guph  tried  to  think  what  to  say  next,  and  £  ^lappy  tnought 
soon  occurred  to  him. 

"We  want  you  to  help  us  in  this  conquest,"  he  an 
nounced,  "for  we  need  the  mighty  aid  of  the  Growleywogs 
in  order  to  make  sure  that  we  shall  not  be  defeated.  You 
are  the  strongest  people  in  all  the  world,  and  you  hate  good 
and  happy  creatures  as  much  as  we  Nomes  do.  I  am  sure  it 
will  be  a  real  pleasure  to  you  to  tear  down  the  beautiful 
Emerald  City,  and  in  return  for  your  valuable  assistance  we 
will  allow  you  to  bring  back  to  your  country  ten  thousand 
people  of  Oz,  to  be  your  slaves." 

"Twenty  thousand!"  growled  the  Grand  Gallipoot. 

"All  right,  we  promise  you  twenty  thousand,"  agreed 
the  General. 

i  82 


Chapter  Eight 


The  Gallipoot  made  a  signal  and  at  once  his  attend 
ants  picked  up  General  Guph  and  carried  him  away  to  a 
prison,  where  the  jailor  amused  himself  by  sticking  pins  in 
the  round  fat  body  of  the  old  Nome,  to  see  him  jump  and 
hear  him  yell. 

But  while  this  was  going  on  the  Grand  Gallipoot  was 
talking  with  his  counselors,  who  were  the  most  important 
officials  of  the  Growleywogs.  When  he  had  stated  to  them 

the  proposition  of  the  Nome  King  he  said : 

» 

"My  advice  is  to  offer  to  help  them.  Then,  when  we 
have  conquered  the  Land  of  Oz,  we  will  take  not  only  our 
twenty  thousand  prisoners  but  all  the  gold  and  jewels  we 


want." 


"Let  us  take  the  Magic  Belt,  too,"  suggested  one  coun 
selor. 

"And  rob  the  Nome  King  and  make  him  our  slave,"  said 
another. 

"That  is  a  good  idea,"  declared  the  Grand  Gallipoot. 
"I  'd  like  King  Roquat  for  my  own  slave.  He  could  black 
my  boots  and  bring  me  my  porridge  every  morning  while  I 
am  in  bed." 

"There  is  a  famous  Scarecrow  in  Oz.  I  '11  take  him  for 
my  slave,"  said  a  counselor. 

"I  '11  take  Tiktok,  the  machine  man,"  said  another. 

"Give  me  the  Tin  Woodman,59  said  a  third. 

83 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

They  went  on  for  some  time,  dividing  up  the  people  and 
the  treasure  of  Oz  in  advance  of  the  conquest.  For  they  had 
no  doubt  at  all  that  they  would  be  able  to  destroy  Ozma's 
domain.  Were  they  not  the  strongest  people  in  all  the 
world? 

"The  deadly  desert  has  kept  us  out  of  Oz  before,"  re 
marked  the  Grand  Gallipoot,  "but  now  that  the  Nome  King 
is  building  a  tunnel  we  shall  get  into  the  Emerald  City  very 
easily.  So  let  us  send  the  little  fat  General  back  to  his  King 
with  our  promise  to  assist  him.  We  will  not  say  that  we  in 
tend  to  conquer  the  Nomes  after  we  have  conquered  Oz,  but 
we  will  do  so,  just  the  same." 

This  plan  being  agreed  upon,  they  all  went  home  to  din 
ner,  leaving  General  Guph  still  in  prison.  The  Nome  had 
no  idea  that  he  had  succeeded  in  his  mission,  for  finding  him 
self  in  prison  he  feared  the  Growleywogs  intended  to  put  him 
to  death. 

By  this  time  the  jailor  had  tired  of  sticking  pins  in  the 
General,  and  was  amusing  himself  by  carefully  pulling  the 
Nome's  whiskers  out  by  the  roots,  one  at  a  time.  This  en 
joyment  was  interrupted  by  the  Grand  Gallipoot  sending 
for  the  prisoner. 

"Wait  a  few  hours,"  begged  the  jailor.  "I  have  n't 
pulled  out  a  quarter  of  his  whiskers  yet." 


Chapter  Eight 


"If  you  keep  the  Grand  Gallipoot  waiting  he  '11  break 
your  back,"  declared  the  messenger. 

"Perhaps  you  're  right,"  sighed  the  jailor.  "Take  the 
prisoner  away,  if  you  will,  but  I  advise  you  to  kick  him 
at  every  step  he  takes.  It  will  be  good  fun,  for  he  is  as  soft 
as  a  ripe  peach." 


So  Gupn  was  led  away  to  the  royal  castle,  where  the 
Grand  Gallipoot  told  him  that  the  Growleywogs  had  de 
cided  to  assist  the  Nomes  in  conquering  the  Land  of  Oz. 

"Whenever  you  are  ready,"  he  added,  "send  me  word 
and  I  will  march  with  eighteen  thousand  of  my  most  power 
ful  warriors  to  your  aid." 

85 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

Guph  was  so  delighted  that  he  forgot  all  the  smarting 
caused  by  the  pins  and  the  pulling  of  whiskers.  He  did 
not  even  complain  of  the  treatment  he  had  received,  but 
thanked  the  Grand  Gallipoot  and  hurried  away  upon  his 
journey. 

He  had  now  secured  the  assistance  of  the  Whimsies  and 
the  Growleywogs;  but  his  success  made  him  long  for  still 
more  allies.  His  own  life  depended  upon  his  conquering 
Oz,  and  he  said  to  himself : 

"I  '11  take  no  chances.  I  '11  be  certain  of  success.  Then, 
when  Oz  is  destroyed,  perhaps  I  shall  be  a  greater  man  than 
old  Roquat,  and  I  can  throw  him  away  and  be  King  of  the 
Nomes  myself.  Why  not?  The  Whimsies  are  stronger  than 
the  Nomes,  and  they  are  my  friends.  The  Growleywogs  are 
stronger  than  the  Whimsies,  and  they  also  are  my  friends. 
There  are  some  people  still  stronger  than  the  Growleywogs, 
and  if  I  can  but  induce  them  to  aid  me  I  shall  have  nothing 
more  to  fear." 


86 


IT  did  not  take  Dorothy  long  to  establish  herself  in  her  new 
home,  for  she  knew  the  people  and  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  Emerald  City  just  as  well  as  she  knew  the  old  Kansas 
farm. 

But  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  had  some  trouble  in 
getting  used  to  the  finery  and  pomp  and  ceremony  of  Ozma's 
palace,  and  felt  uneasy  because  they  were  obliged  to  be 
"dressed  up"  all  the  time.  Yet  every  one  was  very  courteous 
and  kind  to  them  and  endeavored  to  make  them  happy. 
Ozma,  especially,  made  much  of  Dorothy's  relatives,  for  her 
little  friend's  sake,  and  she  well  knew  that  the  awkwardness 
and  strangeness  of  their  new  mode  of  life  would  all  wear 
off  in  time. 

The  old  people  were  chiefly  troubled  by  the  fact  that  there 
was  no  work  for  them  to  do. 

87 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Ev'ry  day  is  like  Sunday,  now,"  declared  Aunt  Em, 
solemnly,  "and  I  can't  say  I  like  it.  If  they  'd  only  let  me 
do  up  the  dishes  after  meals,  or  even  sweep  an'  dust  my  own 
rooms,  I  'd  be  a  deal  happier.  Henry  don't  know  what  to 
do  with  himself  either,  and  once  when  he  stole  out  an'  fed  the 
chickens  Billina  scolded  him  for  letting  'em  eat  between 
meals.  I  never  knew  before  what  a  hardship  it  is  to  be  rich 
and  have  everything  you  want." 

These  complaints  began  to  worry  Dorothy;  so  she  had  a 
long  talk  with  Ozma  upon  the  subject. 

"I  see  I  must  find  them  something  to  do,"  said  the  girlish 
Ruler  of  Oz,  seriously.  "I  have  been  watching  your  uncle 
and  aunt,  and  I  believe  they  will  be  more  contented  if  oc 
cupied  with  some  light  tasks.  While  I  am  considering  this 
matter,  Dorothy,  you  might  make  a  trip  with  them  through 
the  Land  of  Oz,  visiting  some  of  the  odd  corners  and  intro 
ducing  your  relatives  to  some  of  our  curious  people." 

"Oh,  that  would  be  fine!"  exclaimed  Dorothy,  eagerly. 

"I  will  give  you  an  escort  befitting  your  rank  as  a  Prin 
cess,"  continued  Ozma;  "and  you  may  go  to  some  of  the 
places  you  have  not  yet  visited  yourself,  as  well  as  some 
others  that  you  know.  I  will  mark  out  a  plan  of  the  trip  for 
you  and  have  everything  in  readiness  for  you  to  start  to 
morrow  morning.  Take  your  time,  dear,  and  be  gone  as 
long  as  you  wish.  By  the  time  you  return  I  shall  have  found 


Chapter  Nine 


some  occupation  for  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  that  will 
keep  them  from  being  restless  and  dissatisfied." 

Dorothy  thanked  her  good  friend  and  kissed  the  lovely 
Ruler  gratefully.  Then  she  ran  to  tell  the  joyful  news  to 
her  uncle  and  aunt. 

Next  morning,  after  breakfast,  everything  was  found 
ready  for  their  departure. 

The  escort  included  Omby  Amby,  the  Captain  General 
of  Ozma's  army,  which  consisted  merely  of  twenty-seven  of 
ficers  besides  the  Captain  General.  Once  Omby  Amby  had 
been  a  private  soldier — the  only  private  in  the  army — but  as 
there  was  never  any  fighting  to  do  Ozma  saw  no  need  of  a 
private,  so  she  made  Omby  Amby  the  highest  officer  of  them 
all.  He  was  very  tall  and  slim  and  wore  a  gay  uniform  and 
a  fierce  mustache.  Yet  the  mustache  was  the  only  fierce 
thing  about  Omby  Amby,  whose  nature  was  as  gentle  as  that 
of  a  child. 

The  wonderful  Wizard  had  asked  to  join  the  party,  and 
with  him  came  his  friend  the  Shaggy  Man,  who  was  shaggy 
but  not  ragged,  being  dressed  in  fine  silks  with  satin  shags 
and  bobtails.  The  Shaggy  Man  had  shaggy  whiskers  and 
hair,  but  a  sweet  disposition  and  a  soft,  pleasant  voice. 

There  was  an  open  wagon,  with  three  seats  for  the  pas 
sengers,  and  the  wagon  was  drawn  by  the  famous  wooden  Saw- 
horse  which  had  once  been  brought  to  life  by  Ozma  by  .means 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

of  a  magic  powder.  The  Sawhorse  wore  golden  shoes  to  keep 
his  wooden  legs  from  wearing  away,  and  he  was  strong  and 
swift.  As  this  curious  creature  was  Ozma's  own  favorite 
steed,  and  very  popular  with  all  the  people  of  the  Emerald 
City,  Dorothy  knew  that  she  had  been  highly  favored  by  be 
ing  permitted  to  use  the  Sawhorse  on  her  journey. 

In  the  front  seat  of  the  wagon  sat  Dorothy  and  the  Wiz 
ard.  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  sat  in  the  next  seat  and  the 
Shaggy  Man  and  Omby  Amby  in  the  third  seat.  Of  course 
Toto  was  with  the  party,  curled  up  at  Dorothy's  feet,  and 
just  as  they  were  about  to  start  Billina  came  fluttering  along 
the  path  and  begged  to  be  taken  with  them.  Dorothy  readily 
agreed,  so  the  Yellow  Hen  flew  up  and  perched  herself  upon 
the  dashboard.  She  wore  her  pearl  necklace  and  three  brace 
lets  upon  each  leg,  in  honor  of  the  occasion. 

Dorothy  kissed  Ozma  good-bye,  and  all  the  people  stand 
ing  around  waved  their  handkerchiefs,  and  the  band  in  an 
upper  balcony  struck  up  a  military  march.  Then  the  Wiz 
ard  clucked  to  the  Sawhorse  and  said:  "Gid-dap!"  and  the 
wooden  animal  pranced  away  and  drew  behind  him  the  big 
red  wagon  and  all  the  passengers,  without  any  effort  at  all. 
A  servant  threw  open  a  gate  of  the  palace  enclosure,  that 
they  might  pass  out;  and  so,  with  music  and  shouts  following 
them,  the  journey  was  begun. 

90 


Chapter  Nine 


"It  's  almost  like  a  circus,"  said  Aunt  Em,  proudly.  "I 
can't  help  feelin'  high  an'  mighty  in  this  kind  of  a  turn-out." 

Indeed,  as  they  passed  down  the  street,  all  the  people 
cheered  them  lustily,  and  the  Shaggy  Man  and  the  Wizard 
and  the  Captain  General  all  took  off  their  hats  and  bowed 
politely  in  acknowledgment. 

When  they  came  to  the  great  wall  of  the  Emerald  City 
the  gates  were  opened  by  the  Guardian  who  always  tended 
them.  Over  the  gateway  hung  a  dull-colored  metal  magnet 
shaped  like  a  horse-shoe,  placed  against  a  shield  of  polished 
gold. 

"That,"  said  the  Shaggy  Man,  impressively,  "is  the  won 
derful  Love  Magnet.  I  brought  it  to  the  Emerald  City  my 
self,  and  all  who  pass  beneath  this  gateway  are  both  loving 
and  beloved." 

"It  's  a  fine  thing,"  declared  Aunt  Em,  admiringly.  "If 
we  'd  had  it  in  Kansas  I  guess  the  man  who  held  a  mortgage 
on  the  farm  would  n't  have  turned  us  out." 

"Then  I  'm  glad  we  did  n't  have  it,"  returned  Uncle 
Henry.  "I  like  Oz  better  than  Kansas,  even;  an'  this  little 
wood  Sawhorse  beats  all  the  Critters  I  ever  saw.  He  don't 
have  to  be  curried,  or  fed,  or  watered,  an'  he  's  strong  as  an 
ox.  Can  he  talk,  Dorothy?" 

"Yes,  Uncle,"  replied  the  child.  "But  the  Sawhorse 
never  says  much.  He  told  me  once  that  he  can't  talk  and 
think  at  the  same  time,  so  he  prefers  to  think." 

91 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Which  is  very  sensible,"  declared  the  Wizard,  nodding 
approvingly.  "Which  way  do  we  go,  Dorothy?" 

"Straight  ahead  into  the  Quadling  Country,"  she  an 
swered.  "I  've  got  a  letter  of  interduction  to  Miss  Cutten- 

clip." 

"Oh!"  exclaimed  the  Wizard,  much  interested.  "Are  we 
going  there?  Then  I  'm  glad  I  came,  for  I  've  always  wanted 
to  meet  the  Cuttenclips." 

"Who  are  they?"  inquired  Aunt  Em. 

"Wait  till  we  get  there,"  replied  Dorothy,  with  a  laugh; 
"then  you  'U  see  for  yourself.  I  've  never  seen  the  Cutten 
clips,  you  know,  so  I  can't  'zactly  'splain  'em  to  you." 

Once  free  of  the  Emerald  City  the  Sawhorse  dashed  away 
at  tremendous  speed.  Indeed,  he  went  so  fast  that  Aunt 
Em  had  hard  work  to  catch  her  breath,  and  Uncle  Henry 
held  fast  to  the  seat  of  the  red  wagon. 

"Gently — gently,  my  boy!"  called  the  Wizard,  and  at 
this  the  Sawhorse  slackened  his  speed. 

"What  's  wrong?"  asked  the  animal,  slightly  turning  his 
wooden  head  to  look  at  the  party  with  one  eye,  which  was  a 
knot  of  wood. 

"Why,  we  wish  to  admire  the  scenery,  that  's  all,"  an 
swered  the  Wizard. 

"Some  of  your  passengers,"  added  the  Shaggy  Man, 

92 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"have  never  been  out  of  the  Emerald  City  before,  and  the 
country  is  all  new  to  them." 

"If  you  go  too  fast  you  '11  spoil  all  the  fun,"  said  Doro 
thy.  'There  's  no  hurry." 

"Very  well;  it  is  all  the  same  to  me,"  observed  the  Saw- 
horse;  and  after  that  he  went  at  a  more  moderate  pace. 

Uncle  Henry  was  astonished. 

"How  can  a  wooden  thing  be  so  intelligent?"  he  asked. 

"Why,  I  gave  him  some  sawdust  brains  the  last  time  I 
fitted  his  head  with  new  ears,"  explained  the  Wizard.  "The 
sawdust  was  made  from  hard  knots,  and  now  the  Sawhorse 
is  able  to  think  out  any  knotty  problem  he  meets  with." 

"I  see,"  said  Uncle  Henry. 

"I  don't,"  remarked  Aunt  Em;  but  no  one  paid  any  at 
tention  to  this  statement. 

Before  long  they  came  to  a  stately  building  that  stood 
upon  a  green  plain  with  handsome  shade  trees  grouped  here 
and  there. 

"What  is  that?"  asked  Uncle  Henry. 

"That,"  replied  the  Wizard,  "is  the  Royal  Athletic  Col 
lege  of  Oz,  which  is  directed  by  Professor  H.  M.  Woggle- 
bug,  T.  E. 

"Let  's  stop  and  make  a  call,"  suggested  Dorothy. 

So  the  Sawhorse  drew  up  in  front  of  the  great  building 
and  they  were  met  at  the  door  by  the  learned  Wogglebug 

94 


Chapter  Nine 


himself.  He  seemed  fully  as  tall  as  the  Wizard,  and  was 
dressed  in  a  red  and  white  checked  vest  and  a  blue  swallow- 
tailed  coat,  and  had  yellow  knee  breeches  and  purple  silk 
stockings  upon  his  slender  legs.  A  tall  hat  was  jauntily  set 
upon  his  head  and  he  wore  spectacles  over  his  big  bright  eyes. 

"Welcome,  Dorothy,"  said  the  Wogglebug;  "and  wel 
come  to  all  your  friends.  We  are  indeed  pleased  to  receive 
you  at  this  great  Temple  of  Learning." 

"I  thought  it  was  an  Athletic  College,"  said  the  Shaggy 
Man. 

"It  is,  my  dear  sir,"  answered  the  Wogglebug,  proudly. 
"Here  it  is  that  we  teach  the  youth  of  our  great  land  scientific 
College  Athletics — in  all  their  purity." 

"Don't  you  teach  them  anything  else?"  asked  Dorothy. 
"Don't  they  get  any  reading,  writing  and  'rithmetic?" 

"Oh,  yes;  of  course.  They  get  all  those,  and  more,"  re 
turned  the  Professor.  "But  such  things  occupy  little  of  their 
time.  Please  follow  me  and  I  will  show  you  how  my  scholars 
are  usually  occupied.  This  is  a  class  hour  and  they  are  all 
busy." 

They  followed  him  to  a  big  field  back  of  the  college  build 
ing,  where  several  hundred  young  Ozites  were  at  their 
classes.  In  one  place  they  played  football,  in  another  base 
ball.  Some  played  tennis,  some  golf;  some  were  swimming 
in  a  big  pool.  Upon  a  river  which  wound  through  the 

95 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

grounds  several  crews  in  racing  boats  were  rowing  with 
great  enthusiasm.  Other  groups  of  students  played  basket 
ball  and  cricket,  while  in  one  place  a  ring  was  roped  in  to 
permit  boxing  and  wrestling  by  the  energetic  youths.  All 
the  collegians  seemed  busy  and  there  was  much  laughter 
and  shouting. 

"This  college,"  said  Professor  Wogglebug,  complacently, 
"is  a  great  success.  It  's  educational  value  is  undisputed, 
and  we  are  turning  out  many  great  and  valuable  citizens 
every  year." 

"But  when  do  they  study?'  asked  Dorothy. 

"Study?"  said  the  Wogglebug,  looking  perplexed  at  the 
question. 

"Yes;  when  do  they  get  their  'rithmetic,  and  jogerfy,  and 
such  things?" 

"Oh,  they  take  doses  of  those  every  night  and  morning," 
was  the  reply. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  doses?"  Dorothy  inquired,  won- 
deringly. 

"Why,  we  use  the  newly  invented  School  Pills,  made  by 
your  friend  the  Wizard.  These  pills  we  have  found  to  be 
very  effective,  and  they  save  a  lot  of  time.  Please  step  this 
way  and  I  will  show  you  our  Laboratory  of  Learning." 

He  led  them  to  a  room  in  the  building  where  many  large 
bottles  were  standing  in  rows  upon  shelves. 


Chapter  Nine 


"These  are  the  Algebra  Pills/'  said  the  Professor,  taking 
down  one  of  the  bottles.  "One  at  night,  on  retiring,  is  equal 
to  four  hours  of  study.  Here  are  the  Geography  Pills — one 
at  night  and  one  in  the  morning.  In  this  next  bottle  are  the 
Latin  Pills — one  three  times  a  day.  Then  we  have  the 


Grammar  Pills — one  before  each  meal — and  the  Spelling 
Pills,  which  are  taken  whenever  needed." 

"Your  scholars  must  have  to  take  a  lot  of  pills,"  remarked 
Dorothy,  thoughtfully.  "How  do  they  take  'em,  in  apple 
sauce?' 

"No,  my  dear.     They  are  sugar-coated  and  are  quickly 

97 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

and  easily  swallowed.  I  believe  the  students  would  rather 
take  the  pills  than  study,  and  certainly  the  pills  are  a  more 
effective  method.  You  see,  until  these  School  Pills  were  in 
vented  we  wasted  a  lot  of  time  in  study  that  may  now  be 
better  employed  in  practising  athletics." 

"Seems  to  me  the  pills  are  a  good  thing,"  said  Omby 
Amby,  who  remembered  how  it  used  to  make  his  head  ache 
as  a  boy  to  study  arithmetic. 

"They  are,  sir,"  declared  the  Wogglebug,  earnestly. 
"They  give  us  an  advantage  over  all  other  colleges,  because 
at  no  loss  of  time  our  boys  become  thoroughly  conversant 
with  Greek  and  Latin,  Mathematics  and  Geography,  Gram 
mar  and  Literature.  You  see  they  are  never  obliged  to  in 
terrupt  their  games  to  acquire  the  lesser  branches  of  learn 
ing." 

"It  5s  a  great  invention,  I  'm  sure,"  said  Dorothy,  looking 
admiringly  at  the  Wizard,  who  blushed  modestly  at  this 
praise. 

"We  live  in  an  age  of  progress,"  announced  Professor 
Wogglebug,  pompously.  "It  is  easier  to  swallow  knowledge 
than  to  acquire  it  laboriously  from  books.  Is  it  not  so,  my 
friends?" 

"Some  folks  can  swallow  anything,"  said  Aunt  Em,  "but 
to  me  this  seems  too  much  like  taking  medicine." 

"Young  men  in  college  always  have  to  take  their  medi- 


Chapter  Nine 


cine,  one  way  or  another,"  observed  the  Wizard,  with  a 
smile;  "and,  as  our  Professor  says,  these  School  Pills  have 
proved  to  be  a  great  success.  One  day  while  I  was  making 
them  I  happened  to  drop  one  of  them,  and  one  of  Billina's 
chickens  gobbled  it  up.  A  few  minutes  afterward  this  chick 
got  upon  a  roost  and  recited  'The  Boy  Stood  on  the  Burn 
ing  Deck'  without  making  a  single  mistake.  Then  it  recited 
'The  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade'  and  afterwards  'Excel 
sior.'  You  see,  the  chicken  had  eaten  an  Elocution  Pill." 

They  now  bade  goodbye  to  the  Professor,  and  thank 
ing  him  for  his  kind  reception  mounted  again  into  the  red 
wagon  and  continued  their  journey. 


99 


THE  travelers  had  taken  no  provisions  with  them  because 
they  knew  that  they  would  be  welcomed  wherever  they  might 
go  in  the  Land  of  Oz,  and  that  the  people  would  feed  and 
lodge  them  with  genuine  hospitality.  So  about  noon  they 
stopped  at  a  farm-house  and  were  given  a  delicious  luncheon 
of  bread  and  milk,  fruits  and  wheat  cakes  with  maple  syrup. 
After  resting  a  while  and  strolling  through  the  orchards  with 
their  host — a  round,  jolly  farmer — they  got  into  the  wagon 
and  again  started  the  Sawhorse  along  the  pretty,  winding 
road. 

There  were  sign-posts  at  all  the  corners,  and  finally  they 
came  to  one  which  read : 


TAKE  THIS  ROAD  TO  THE  CUTTENCLIPS 

100 


Chapter  Ten 


There  was  also  a  hand  pointing  in  the  right  .direction,  so 
they  turned  the  Sawhorse  that  way  antffoiirid  it' a"  very  good 
road,  but  seemingly  little  traveled-. 

"I  've  never  been  to  see  the  Cuttenclips  before,"  re 
marked  Dorothy. 

"Nor  I,"  said  the  Captain  General. 

"Nor  I,"  said  the  Wizard. 

"Nor  I,"  said  Billina. 

"I  've  hardly  been  out  of  the  Emerald  City  since  I  arrived 
in  this  country,"  added  the  Shaggy  Man. 

"Why,  none  of  us  has  been  there,  then,"  exclaimed  the 
little  girl.  "I  wonder  what  the  Cuttenclips  are  like." 

"We  shall  soon  find  out,"  said  the  Wizard,  with  a  sly 
laugh.  "I  've  heard  they  are  rather  flimsy  things." 

The  farm-houses  became  fewer  as  they  proceeded,  and  the 
path  was  at  times  so  faint  that  the  Sawhorse  had  hard  work 
to  keep  in  the  road.  The  wagon  began  to  jounce,  too;  so 
they  were  obliged  to  go  slowly. 

After  a  somewhat  wearisome  journey  they  came  in  sight 
of  a  high  wall,  painted  blue  with  pink  ornaments.  This  wall 
was  circular,  and  seemed  to  enclose  a  large  space.  It  was  so 
high  that  only  the  tops  of  the  trees  could  be  seen  above  it. 

The  path  led  up  to  a  small  door  in  the  wall,  which  was 
closed  and  latched.  Upon  the  door  was  a  sign  in  gold  letters 
reading  as  follows : 

101 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

VISITORS  are  requested  to  MOVE 
SLOWLY'  and  CAREFULLT,  and  to  avoid 
£OU&mNG  w  making  any  BREEZE  or 
DRAUGHT 

'That  's  strange,"  said  the  Shaggy  Man,  reading  the 
sign  aloud.  "Who  are  the  Cuttenclips,  anyhow?" 

"Why,  they  're  paper  dolls,"  answered  Dorothy.  "Did  n't 
you  know  that?" 

"Paper  dolls!  Then  let  's  go  somewhere  else,"  said 
Uncle  Henry.  "We  're  all  too  old  to  play  with  dolls,  Doro 
thy." 

"But  these  are  different,"  declared  the  girl.  "They  're 
alive. 

"Alive!"  gasped  Aunt  Em,  in  amazement. 

"Yes.    Let  's  go  in,"  said  Dorothy. 

So  they  all  got  ojit  of  the  wagon,  since  the  door  in  the 
wall  was  not  big  enough  for  them  to  drive  the  Sawhorse  and 
wagon  through  it. 

"You  stay  here,  Toto!"  commanded  Dorothy,  shaking 
her  finger  at  the  little  dog.  "You  're  so  careless  that  you 
might  make  a  breeze  if  I  let  you  inside." 

Toto  wagged  his  tail  as  if  disappointed  at  being  left  be 
hind;  but  he  made  no  effort  to  follow  them.  The  Wizard  un 
latched  the  door,  which  opened  outward,  and  they  all  looked 
eagerly  inside. 

102 


Chapter  Ten 


Just  before  the  entrance  was  drawn  up  a  line  of  tiny 
soldiers,  with  uniforms  brightly  painted  and  paper  guns  upon 
their  shoulders.  They  were  exactly  alike,  from  one  end  of 
the  line  to  the  other,  and  all  were  cut  out  of  paper  and  joined 
together  in  the  centers  of  their  bodies. 

As  the  visitors  entered  the  enclosure  the  Wizard  let  the 
door  swing  back  into  place,  and  at  once  the  line  of  soldiers 
tumbled  over,  fell  flat  upon  their  backs,  and  lay  fluttering 
upon  the  ground. 

"Hi,  there!"  called  one  of  them;  "what  do  you  mean  by 
slamming  the  door  and  blowing  us  over?" 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  I  'm  sure,"  said  the  Wizard,  regret 
fully.  "I  did  n't  know  you  were  so  delicate." 

"We  're  not  delicate!"  retorted  another  soldier,  raising 
his  head  from  the  ground.  "We  are  strong  and  healthy;  but 
we  can't  stand  draughts." 

"May  I  help  you  up?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"If  you  please,"  replied  the  end  soldier.  "But  do  it 
gently,  little  girl." 

Dorothy  carefully  stood  up  the  line  of  soldiers,  who  first 
dusted  their  painted  clothes  and  then  saluted  the  visitors 
with  their  paper  muskets.  From  the  end  it  was  easy  to  see 
that  the  entire  line  had  been  cut  out  of  paper,  although  from 
the  front  the  soldiers  looked  rather  solid  and  imposing. 

103 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"I  've  a  letter  of  introduction  from  Princess  Ozma  to  Miss 
Cuttenclip,"  announced  Dorothy. 

"Very  well,"  said  the  end  soldier,  and  blew  upon  a  paper 
whistle  that  hung  around  his  neck.  At  once  a  paper  soldier 
in  a  Captain's  uniform  came  out  of  a  paper  house  near  by 
and  approached  the  group  at  the  entrance.  He  was  not  very 
big,  and  he  walked  rather  stiffly  and  uncertainly  on  his  pa 
per  legs;  but  he  had  a  pleasant  face,  with  very  red  cheeks 
and  very  blue  eyes,  and  he  bowed  so  low  to  the  strangers 
that  Dorothy  laughed,  and  the  breeze  from  her  mouth  nearly 
blew  the  Captain  over.  He  wavered  and  struggled  and  fin 
ally  managed  to  remain  upon  his  feet. 

"Take  care,  Miss!"  he  said,  warningly.  "You  're  break 
ing  the  rules,  you  know,  by  laughing." 

"Oh,  I  did  n't  know  that,"  she  replied. 

"To  laugh  in  this  place  is  nearly  as  dangerous  as  to 
cough,"  'said  the  Captain.  "You  '11  have  to  breathe  very 
quietly,  I  assure  you." 

"We  '11  try  to,"  promised  the  girl.  "May  we  see  Miss 
Cuttenclip,  please?" 

"You  may,"  promptly  returned  the  Captain.  "This  is 
one  of  her  reception  days.  Be  good  enough  to  follow  me." 

He  turned  and  led  the  way  up  a  path,  and  as  they  fol 
lowed  slowly,  because  the  paper  Captain  did  not  move  very 

104 


Chapter  Ten 


swiftly,  they  took  the  opportunity  to  gaze  around  them  at 
this  strange  paper  country. 

Beside  the  path  were  paper  trees,  all  cut  out  very  neatly 
and  painted  a  brilliant  green  color.  And  back  of  the  trees 
were  rows  of  cardboard  houses,  painted  in  various  colors  but 
most  of  them  having  green  blinds.  Some  were  large  and 
some  small,  and  in  the  front  yards  were  beds  of  paper  flowers 
quite  natural  in  appearance.  Over  some  of  the  porches  pa 
per  vines  were  twined,  giving  them  a  cosy  and  shady  look. 

As  the  visitors  passed  along  the  street  a  good  many  pa 
per  dolls  came  to  the  doors  and  windows  of  their  houses  to 
look  at  them  curiously.  These  dolls  were  nearly  all  the  same 
height,  but  were  cut  into  various  shapes,  some  being  fat  and 
some  lean.  The  girl  dolls  wore  many  beautiful  costumes  of 
tissue  paper,  making  them  quite  fluffy;  but  their  heads  and 
hands  were  no  thicker  than  the  paper  of  which  they  were 
made. 

Some  of  the  paper  people  were  on  the  street,  walking 
along  or  congregated  in  groups  and  talking  together;  but 
as  soon  as  they  saw  the  strangers  they  all  fluttered  into  the 
houses  as  fast  as  they  could  go,  so  as  to  be  out  of  danger. 

"Excuse  me  if  I  go  edgewise,"  remarked  the  Captain,  as 
they  came  to  a  slight  hill.  "I  can  get  along  faster  that  way 
and  not  flutter  so  much." 

105 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

'That 's  all  right,"  said  Dorothy.  "We  don't  mind  how 
you  go,  I  'm  sure." 

At  one  side  of  the  street  was  a  paper  pump,  and  a  paper 
boy  was  pumping  paper  water  into  a  paper  pail.  The  Yel 
low  Hen  happened  to  brush  against  this  boy  with  her  wing, 
and  he  flew  into  the  air  and  fell  into  a  paper  tree,  where  he 
stuck  until  the  Wizard  gently  pulled  him  out.  At  the  same 
time  the  pail  went  soaring  into  the  air,  spilling  the  paper 
water,  while  the  paper  pump  bent  nearly  double. 

"Goodness  me!"  said  the  Hen.  "If  I  should  flop  my 
wings  I  believe  I  'd  knock  over  the  whole  village!" 

"Then  don't  flop  them — please  don't!"  entreated  the  Cap 
tain.  "Miss  Cuttenclip  would  be  very  much  distressed  if  her 
village  was  spoiled." 

"Oh,  I  '11  be  careful,"  promised  Billina. 

"Are  not  all  these  paper  girls  and  women  named  Miss 
Cuttenclips?"  inquired  Omby  Amby. 

"No,  indeed,"  answered  the  Captain,  who  was  walking 
better  since  he  began  to  move  edgewise.  "There  is  but  one 
Miss  Cuttenclip,  who  is  our  Queen,  because  she  made  us  all. 
These  girls  are  Cuttenclips,  to  be  sure,  but  their  names  are 
Emily  and  Polly  and  Sue  and  Betty  and  such  things.  Only 
the  Queen  is  called  Miss  Cuttenclip." 

"I  must  say  that  this  place  beats  anything  I  ever  heard 
of,"  observed  Aunt  Em.  "I  used  to  play  with  paper  dolls 

106 


Chapter  Ten 


myself,  an'  cut  'em  out;  but  I  never  thought  I  'd  ever  see 
such  things  alive." 

"I  don't  see  as  it  's  any  more  curious  than  hearing  hens 
talk,"  returned  Uncle  Henry. 

"You  're  likely  to  see  many  queer  things  in  the  Land  of 
Oz,  sir,"  said  the  Wizard.-  "But  a  fairy  country  is  extremely 
interesting  when  you  get  used  to  being  surprised." 

"Here  we  are!"  called  the  Captain,  stopping  before  a 
cottage. 

This  house  was  made  of  wood,  and  was  remarkably 
pretty  in  design.  In  the  Emerald  City  it  would  have  been 
considered  a  tiny  dwelling,  indeed;  but  in  the  midst  of  this 
paper  village  it  seemed  immense.  Real  flowers  were  in  the 
garden  and  real  trees  grew  beside  it.  Upon  the  front  door 
was  a  sign  reading  : 

MISS  CUTTENCLIP. 

Just  as  they  reached  the  porch  the  front  door  opened  and 
a  little  girl  stood  before  them.  She  appeared  to  be  about 
the  same  age  as  Dorothy,  and  smiling  upon  her  visitors  she 
said,  sweetly: 

"You  are  welcome." 

All  the  party  seemed  relieved  to  find  that  here  was  a  real 
girl,  of  flesh  and  blood.  She  was  very  dainty  and  pretty  as 
she  stood  there  welcoming  them.  Her  hair  was  a  golden 

107 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

blonde  and  her  eyes  turquoise  blue.  She  had  rosy  cheeks  and 
lovely  white  teeth.  Over  her  simple  white  lawn  dress  she 
wore  an  apron  with  pink  and  white  checks,  and  in  one  hand 
she  held  a  pair  of  scissors. 

"May  we  see  Miss  Cuttenclip,  please?'  asked  Dorothy. 

"I  am  Miss  Cuttenclip,"  was  the  reply.  "Won't  you 
come  in?" 

She  held  the  door  open  while  they  all  entered  a  pretty 
sitting-room  that  was  littered  with  all  sorts  of  paper — some 
stiff,  some  thin,  and  some  tissue.  The  sheets  and  scraps  were 
of  all  colors.  Upon  a  table  were  paints  and  brushes,  while 
several  pair  of  scissors,  of  different  sizes,  were  lying  about. 

"Sit  down,  please,"  said  Miss  Cuttenclip,  clearing  the 
paper  scraps  off  some  of  the  chairs.  "It  is  so  long  since  I 
have  had  any  visitors  that  I  am  not  properly  prepared  to  re 
ceive  them.  But  I  'm  sure  you  will  pardon  my  untidy  room, 
for  this  is  my  workshop." 

"Do  you  make  all  the  paper  dolls?"  inquired  Dorothy. 

"Yes;  I  cut  them  out  with  my  scissors,  and  paint  the  faces 
and  some  of  the  costumes.  It  is  very  pleasant  work,  and  I 
am  happy  making  my  paper  village  grow." 

"But  how  do  the  paper  dolls  happen  to  be  alive?"  asked 
Aunt  Em. 

"The  first  dolls  I  made  were  not  alive,"  said  Miss  Cut 
tenclip.  '  I  used  to  live  near  the  castle  of  a  great  Sorceress 

108 


Chapter  Ten 


named  Glinda  the  Good,  and  she  saw  my  dolls  and  said  they 
were  very  pretty.  I  told  her  I  thought  I  would  like  them 
better  if  they  were  alive,  and  the  next  day  the  Sorceress 
brought  me  a  lot  of  magic  paper.  'This  is  live  paper/  she 
said,  'and  all  the  dolls  you  cut  out  of  it  will  be  alive,  and 
able  to  think  and  to  talk.  When  you  have  used  it  all  up, 
come  to  me  and  I  will  give  you  more.' 

"Of  course  I  was  delighted  with  this  present,"  continued 
Miss  Cuttenclip,  "and  at  once  set  to  work  and  made  several 
paper  dolls,  which,  as  soon  as  they  were  cut  out,  began  to 
walk  around  and  talk  to  me.  But  they  were  so  thin  that  I 
found  that  any  breeze  would  blow  them  over  and  scatter 
them  dreadfully;  so  Glinda  found  this  lonely  place  for  me, 
where  few  people  ever  come.  She  built  the  wall  to  keep  any 
wind  from  blowing  away  my  people,  and  told  me  I  could 
build  a  paper  village  here  and  be  its  Queen.  That  is  why 
I  came  here  and  settled  down  to  work  and  started  the  village 
you  now  see.  It  was  many  years  ago  that  I  built  the  first 
houses,  and  I  've  kept  pretty  busy  and  made  my  village  grow 
finely ;  and  I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  am  very  happy  in  my 
work." 

"Many  years  ago!"  exclaimed  Aunt  Em.  "Why,  how 
old  are  you,  child?" 

"I  never  keep  track  of  the  years,"  said  Miss  Cuttenclip, 
laughing.  "You  see,  I  don't  grow  up  at  all,  but  stay  just  the 

109 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

same  as  I  was  when  first  I  came  here.     Perhaps  I  'm  older 
even  than  you  are,  madam;  but  I  could  n't  say  for  sure." 

They  looked  at  the  lovely  little  girl  wonderingly,  and  the 
Wizard  asked: 

"What  happens  to  your  paper  village  when  it  rains'?" 
"It  does  not  rain  here,"  replied  Miss  Cuttenclip.  "Glinda 
keeps  all  the  rain  storms  away;  so  I  never  worry  about  my 
dolls  getting  wet.  But  now,  if  you  will  come  with  me,  it 
will  give  me  pleasure  to  show  you  over  my  paper  kingdom. 
Of  course  you  must  go  slowly  and  carefully,  and  avoid  mak 
ing  any  breeze." 

They  left  the  cottage  and  followed  their  guide  through 
the  various  streets  of  the  village.  It  was  indeed  an  amaz 
ing  place,  when  one  considered  that  it  was  all  made  with 
scissors,  and  the  visitors  were  not  only  greatly  interested  but 
full  of  admiration  for  the  skill  of  little  Miss  Cuttenclip. 

In  one  place  a  large  group  of  especially  nice  paper  dolls 
assembled  to  greet  their  Queen,  whom  it  was  easy  to  see  they 
loved  dearly.  These  dolls  marched  and  danced  before  the 
visitors,  and  then  they  all  waved  their  paper  handkerchiefs 
and  sang  in  a  sweet  chorus  a  song  called  "The  Flag  of  Our 
Native  Land." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  song  they  ran  up  a  handsome 
paper  flag  on  a  tall  flagpole,  and  all  of  the  people  of  the 

110 


Chapter  Ten 


village  gathered  around  to  cheer  as  loudly  as  they  could — al 
though,  of  course,  their  voices  were  not  especially  strong. 

Miss  Cuttenclip  was  about  to  make  her  subjects  a  speech 
in  reply  to  this  patriotic  song,  when  the  Shaggy  Man  hap 
pened  to  sneeze. 


He  was  a  very  loud  and  powerful  sneezer  at  any  time, 
and  he  had  tried  so  hard  to  hold  in  this  sneeze  that  when  it 
suddenly  exploded  the  result  was  terrible. 

The  paper  dolls  were  mowed  down  by  dozens,  and  flew 
and  fluttered  in  wild  confusion  in  every  direction,  tumbling 
this  way  and  that  and  getting  more  or  less  wrinkled  and 
bent. 

ill 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

A  waS  of  terror  and  grief  came  from  the  scattered  throng, 
and  Miss  Cuttenclip  exclaimed: 

"Dear  me!  dear  me!"  and  hurried  at  once  to  the  rescue 
of  her  overturned  people. 

"Oh,  Shaggy  Man!  How  could  you?'  asked  Dorothy, 
reproachfully. 

"I  could  n't  help  it — really  I  could  n't,"  protested  the 
Shaggy  Man,  looking  quite  ashamed.  "And  I  had  no  idea  it 
took  so  little  to  upset  these  paper  dolls." 

"So  little!"  said  Dorothy.  "Why,  it  was  'most  as  bad 
as  a  Kansas  cyclone."  And  then  she  helped  Miss  Cuttenclip 
rescue  the  paper  folk  and  stand  them  on  their  feet  again. 
Two  of  the  cardboard  houses  had  also  tumbled  over,  and 
the  little  Queen  said  she  would  have  to  repair  them  and  paste 
them  together  before  they  could  be  lived  in  again. 

And  now,  fearing  they  might  do  more  damage  to  the 
flimsy  paper  people,  they  decided  to  go  away.  But  first  they 
thanked  Miss  Cuttenclip  very  warmly  for  her  courtesy  and 
kindness  to  them. 

"Any  friend  of  Princess  Ozma  is  always  welcome  here — 
unless  he  sneezes,"  said  the  Queen,  with  a  rather  severe  look 
at  the  Shaggy  Man,  who  hung  his  head.  "I  like  to  have  visit 
ors  admire  my  wonderful  village,  and  I  hope  you  will  call 
again." 

112 


Chapter  Ten 

*  » 


Miss  Cuttenclip  herself  led  them  to  the  door  in  the  wall, 
and  as  they  passed  along  the  street  the  paper  dolls  peeped  at 
them  half  fearfully  from  the  doors  and  windows.  Perhaps 
they  will  never  forget  the  Shaggy  Man's  awful  sneeze,  and 
I  am  sure  they  were  all  glad  to  see  the  meat  people  go  away. 


ON  leaving  the  Growleywogs  General  Guph  had  to  recross 
the  Ripple  Lands,  and  he  did  not  find  it  a  pleasant 
thing  to  do.  Perhaps  having  his  whiskers  pulled  out  one  by 
one  and  being  used  as  a  pin-cushion  for  the  innocent  amuse 
ment  of  a  good  natured  jailor  had  not  improved  the  quality 
of  Guph's  temper,  for  the  old  Nome  raved  and  raged  at  the 
recollection  of  the  wrongs  he  had  suffered,  and  vowed  to  take 
vengeance  upon  the  Growleywogs  after  he  had  used  them 
for  his  purposes  and  Oz  had  been  conquered.  He  went  on 
in  this  furious  way  until  he  was  half  across  the  Ripple  Land. 
Then  he  became  seasick,  and  the  rest  of  the  way  this  naughty 
Nome  was  almost  as  miserable  as  he  deserved  to  be. 

But  when  he  reached  the  plains  again  and  the  ground 
was  firm  under  his  feet  he  began  to  feel  better,  and  instead 
of  going  back  home  he  turned  directly  west.  A  squirrel, 

114 


Chapter  Eleven 


perched  in  a  tree,  saw  him  take  this  road  and  called  to  him 
warningly:  "Look  out!"  But  he  paid  no  attention.  An 
eagle  paused  in  its  flight  through  the  air  to  look  at  him  won- 
deringly  and  say:  "Look  out!"  But  on  he  went. 

No  one  can  say  that  Guph  was  not  brave,  for  he  had  de 
termined  to  visit  those  dangerous  creatures  the  Phanfasms, 
who  resided  upon  the  very  top  of  the  dread  Mountain  of 
Phantastico.  The  Phanfasms  were  Erbs,  and  so  dreaded  by 
mortals  and  immortals  alike  that  no  one  had  been  near  their 
mountain  home  for  several  thousand  years.  Yet  General 
Guph  hoped  to  induce  them  to  join  in  his  proposed  warfare 
against  the  good  and  happy  Oz  people. 

Guph  knew  very  well  that  the  Phanfasms  would  be  al 
most  as  dangerous  to  the  Nomes  as  they  would  to  the  Ozites, 
but  he  thought  himself  so  clever  that  he  believed  that  he 
could  manage  these  strange  creatures  and  make  them  obey 
him.  And  there  was  no  doubt  at  all  that  if  he  could  enlist  the 
services  of  the  Phanfasms  their  tremendous  power,  united 
to  the  strength  of  the  Growleywogs  and  the  cunning  of  the 
Whimsies  would  doom  the  Land  of  Oz  to  absolute  destruc 
tion. 

So  the  old  Nome  climbed  the  foothills  and  trudged  along 
the  wild  mountain  paths  until  he  came  to  a  big  gully  that 
encircled  the  Mountain  of  Phantastico  and  marked  the 
boundary  line  of  the  dominion  of  the  Phanfasms.  This  gully 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

was  about  a  third  of  the  way  up  the  mountain,  and  it  was 
filled  to  the  brim  with  red-hot  molten  lava,  in  which  swam 
fire-serpents  and  poisonous  salamanders.  The  heat  from  this 
mass  and  its  poisonous  smell  were  both  so  unbearable  that 
even  birds  hesitated  to  fly  over  the  gully,  but  circled  around 
it.  All  living  things  kept  away  from  the  mountain. 

Now  Guph  had  heard,  during  his  long  lifetime,  many 
tales  of  these  dreaded  Phanfasms;  so  he  had  heard  of  this 
barrier  of  melted  lava,  and  also  he  had  been  told  that  there 
was  a  narrow  bridge  that  spanned  it  in  one  place.  So  he 
walked  along  the  edge  until  he  found  the  bridge.  It  was  a 
single  arch  of  gray  stone,  and  lying  flat  upon  this  bridge  was 
a  scarlet  alligator,  seemingly  fast  asleep. 

When  Guph  stumbled  over  the  rocks  in  approaching  the 
bridge  the  creature  opened  its  eyes,  from  which  tiny  flames 
shot  in  all  directions,  and  after  looking  at  the  intruder  very 
wickedly  the  scarlet  alligator  closed  its  eyelids  again  and 
lay  still. 

Guph  saw  there  was  no  room  for  him  to  pass  the  alligator 
on  the  narrow  bridge,  so  he  called  out  to  it : 

"Good  morning,  friend.  I  don't  wish  to  hurry  you,  but 
please  tell  me  if  you  are  coming  down,  or  going  up?" 

"Neither,"  snapped  the  alligator,  clicking  its  cruel  jaws 
together. 

The  General  hesitated. 

116 


Chapter  Eleven 


"Are  you  likely  to  stay  there  long?'  he  asked. 

"A  few  hundred  years  or  so,"  said  the  alligator. 

Guph  softly  rubbed  the  end  of  his  nose  and  tried  to  think 
what  to  do. 

"Do  you  know  whether  the  First  and  Foremost  Phanfasm 
of  Phantastico  is  at  home  or  not4?"  he  presently  inquired. 

"I  expect  he  is,  seeing  he  is  always  at  home,"  replied  the 
alligator. 

"Ah;  who  is  that  coming  down  the  mountain?"  asked  the 
Nome,  gazing  upward. 

The  alligator  turned  to  look  over  its  shoulder,  and  at  once 
Guph  ran  to  the  bridge  and  leaped  over  the  sentinel's  back 
before  it  could  turn  back  again.  The  scarlet  monster  made 
a  snap  at  the  Nome's  left  foot,  but  missed  it  by  fully  an  inch. 

"Ah  ha!"  laughed  the  General,  who  was  now  on  the  moun 
tain  path.  "I  fooled  you  that  time." 

"So  you  did;  and  perhaps  you  fooled  yourself,"  retorted 
the  alligator.  "Go  up  the  mountain,  if  you  dare,  and  find 
out  what  the  First  and  Foremost  will  do  to  you!" 

"I  will,"  declared  Guph,  boldly;  and  on  he  went  up  the 
path. 

At  first  the  scene  was  wild  enough,  but  gradually  it 
grew  more  and  more  awful  in  appearance.  All  the  rocks 
had  the  shapes  of  frightful  beings  and  even  the  tree  trunks 
were  gnarled  and  twisted  like 'serpents. 

117 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

Suddenly  there  appeared  before  the  Nome  a  man  with 
the  head  of  an  owl.  His  body  was  hairy,  like  that  of  an  ape, 
and  his  only  clothing  was  a  scarlet  scarf  twisted  around  his 
waist.  He  bore  a  huge  club  in  his  hand  and  his  round  owl 
eyes  blinked  fiercely  upon  the  intruder. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?"  he  demanded,  threatening 
Guph  with  his  club. 

"I  've  come  to  see  the  First  and  Foremost  Phanfasm  of 
Phantastico,"  replied  the  General,  who  did  not  like  the  way 
this  creature  looked  at  him,  but  still  was  not  afraid. 

"Ah;  you  shall  see  him!"  the  man  said,  with  a  sneering 
laugh.  "The  First  and  Foremost  shall  decide  upon  the  best 
way  to  punish  you." 

"He  will  not  punish  me,"  returned  Guph,  calmly,  "for  I 
have  come  here  to  do  him  and  his  people  a  rare  favor.  Lead 
on,  fellow,  and  take  me  directly  to  your  master." 

The  owl-man  raised  his  club  with  a  threatening  gesture. 

"If  you  try  to  escape,"  he  said,  "beware—" 

But  here  the  General  interrupted  him. 

"Spare  your  threats,"  said  he,  "and  do  not  be  impertinent, 
or  I  will  have  you  severely  punished.  Lead  on,  and  keep 
silent!" 

This  Guph  was  really  a  clever  rascal,  and  it  seems  a  pity 
he  was  so  bad,  for  in  a  good  cause  he  might  have  accomplished 
much.  He  realized  that  he  had  put  himself  into  a  danger- 

118 


Chapter  Eleven 


ous  position  by  coming  to  this  dreadful  mountain,  but  he 
also  knew  that  if  he  showed  fear  he  was  lost.  So  he  adopted 
a  bold  manner  as  his  best  defense.  The  wisdom  of  this  plan 
was  soon  evident,  for  the  Phanfasm  with  the  owl's  head 
turned  and  led  the  way  up  the  mountain. 

At  the  very  top  was  a  level  plain,  upon  which  were  heaps 
of  rock  that  at  first  glance  seemed  solid.  But  on  looking 
closer  Guph  discovered  that  these  rock  heaps  were  dwellings, 
for  each  had  an  opening. 

Not  a  person  was  to  be  seen  outside  the  rock  huts.  All 
was  silent. 

The  owl-man  led  the  way  among  the  groups  of  dwellings 
to  one  standing  in  the  center.  It  seemed  no  better  and  no 
worse  than  any  of  the  others.  Outside  the  entrance  to  this 
rock  heap  the  guide  gave  a  low  wail  that  sounded  like  "Lee- 
ow-ah!" 

Suddenly  there  bounded  from  the  opening  another  hairy 
man.  This  one  wore  the  head  of  a  bear.  In  his  hand  he  bore 
a  brass  hoop.  He  glared  at  the  stranger  in  evident  surprise. 

"Why  have  you  captured  this  foolish  wanderer  and 
brought  him  here?"  he  demanded,  addressing  the  owl-man. 

"I  did  not  capture  him,"  was  the  answer.  "He  passed  the 
scarlet  alligator  and  came  here  of  his  own  free  will  and  ac 
cord." 

The  First  and  Foremost  looked  at  the  General. 

119 


The  Emerald   City  of  Oz 

"Have  you  tired  of  life,  then?"  he  asked. 

"No,  indeed,"  answered  Guph.  "I  am  a  Nome,  and  the 
Chief  General  of  King  Roquat  the  Red's  great  army  of 
Nomes.  I  come  of  a  long-lived  race,  and  I  may  say  that  I 
expect  to  live  a  long  time  yet.  Sit  down,  you  Phanf asms — 
if  you  can  find  a  seat  in  this  wild  haunt — and  listen  to  what 
I  have  to  say." 

With  all  his  knowledge  and  bravery  General  Guph  did 
not  know  that  the  steady  glare  from  the  bear  eyes  was  read 
ing  his  inmost  thoughts  as  surely  as  if  they  had  been  put  into 
words.  He  did  not  know  that  these  despised  rock  heaps  of 
the  Phanfasms  were  merely  deceptions  to  his  own  eyes,  nor 
could  he  guess  that  he  was  standing  in  the  midst  of  one  of 
the  most  splendid  and  luxurious  cities  ever  built  by  magic 
power.  All  that  he  saw  was  a  barren  waste  of  rock  heaps,  a 
hairy  man  with  an  owl's  head  and  another  with  a  bear's  head. 
The  sorcery  of  the  Phanfasms  permitted  him  to  see  no  more. 

Suddenly  the  First  and  Foremost  swung  his  brass  hoop 
and  caught  Guph  around  the  neck  with  it.  The  next  instant, 
before  the  General  could  think  what  had  happened  to  him, 
he  was  dragged  inside  the  rock  hut.  Here,  his  eyes  still 
blinded  to  realities,  he  perceived  only  a  dim  light,  by  which 
the  hut  seemed  as  rough  and  rude  inside  as  it  was  outside. 
Yet  he  had  a  strange  feeling  that  many  bright  eyes  were  fas 
tened  upon  him  and  that  he  stood  in  a  vast  and  extensive  hall, 

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The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

The  First  and  Foremost  now  laughed  grimly  and  re 
leased  his  prisoner. 

"If  you  have  anything  to  say  that  is  interesting,"  he  re 
marked,  "speak  out,  before  I  strangle  you." 

So  Guph  spoke  out.  He  tried  not  to  pay  any  attention  to 
a  strange  rustling  sound  that  he  heard,  as  of  an  unseen  mul 
titude  drawing  near  to  listen  to  his  words.  His  eyes  could 
see  only  the  fierce  bear-man,  and  to  him  he  addressed  his 
speech.  First  he  told  of  his  plan  to  conquer  the  Land  of  Oz 
and  plunder  the  country  of  its  riches  and  enslave  its  people, 
who,  being  fairies,  could  not  be  killed.  After  relating  all 
this,  and  telling  of  the  tunnel  the  Nome  King  was  building, 
he  said  he  had  come  to  ask  the  First  and  Foremost  to  join  the 
Nomes,  with  his  band  of  terrible  warriors,  and  help  them  to 
defeat  the  Oz  people. 

The  General  spoke  very  earnestly  and  impressively,  but 
when  he  had  finished  the  bear-man  began  to  laugh  as  if  much 
amused,  and  his  laughter  seemed  to  be  echoed  by  a  chorus  of 
merriment  from  an  unseen  multitude.  Then,  for  the  first 
time,  Guph  began  to  feel  a  trifle  worried. 

"Who  else  has  promised  to  help  you?"  finally  asked  the 
First  and  Foremost. 

"The  Whimsies,"  replied  the  General. 

Again  the  bear-headed  Phanfasm  laughed. 

"Any  others?"  he  inquired. 

122 


Chapter  Eleven 


"Only  the  Growleywogs,"  said  Guph. 
This  answer  set  the  First  and  Foremost  laughing  anew. 
"What  share  of  the  spoils  am  I  to  have?"  was  the  next 
question. 

"Anything  you  like,  except  King  Roquat's  Magic  Belt," 
replied  Guph. 

At  this  the  Phanf asm  set  up  a  roar  of  laughter,  which  had 
its  echo  in  the  unseen  chorus,  and  the  bear-man  seemed  so 
amused  that  he  actually  rolled  upon  the  ground  and  shouted 
with  merriment. 

"Oh,  these  blind  and  foolish  Nomes !"  he  said.  "How  big 
they  seem  to  themselves  and  how  small  they  really  are!" 

Suddenly  he  arose  and  seized  Guph's  neck  with  one  hairy 
paw,  dragging  him  out  of  the  hut  into  the  open. 

Here  he  gave  a  curious  wailing  cry,  and,  as  if  in  answer, 
from  all  the  rocky  huts  on  the  mountain-top  came  flocking  a 
horde  of  Phanf  asms,  all  with  hairy  bodies,  but  wearing  heads 
of  various  animals,  birds  and  reptiles.  All  were  ferocious  and 
repulsive-looking  to  the  deceived  eyes  of  the  Nome,  and 
Guph  could  not  repress  a  shudder  of  disgust  as  he  looked 
upon  them. 

The  First  and  Foremost  slowly  raised  his  arms,  and  in  a 
twinkling  his  hairy  skin  fell  from  him  and  he  appeared  be 
fore  the  astonished  Nome  as  a  beautiful  woman,  clothed  in 

123 


The   Emerald  City  of  Oz 

a  flowing  gown  of  pink  gauze.    In  her  dark  hair  flowers  were 
entwined,  and  her  face  was  noble  and  calm. 

At  the  same  instant  the  entire  band  of  Phanf asms  was 
transformed  into  a  pack  of  howling  wolves,  running  here  and 
there  as  they  snarled  and  showed  their  ugly  yellow  fangs. 

The  woman  now  raised  her  arms,  even  as  the  man-bear 
had  done,  and  in  a  twinkling  the  wolves  became  crawling 
lizards,  while  she  herself  changed  into  a  huge  butterfly. 

Guph  had  only  time  to  cry  out  in  fear  and  take  a  step 
backward  to  avoid  the  lizards  when  another  transformation 
occurred,  and  all  returned  instantly  to  the  forms  they  had 
originally  worn. 

Then  the  First  and  Foremost,  who  had  resumed  his  hairy 
body  and  bear  head,  turned  to  the  Nome  and  asked : 

"Do  you  still  demand  our  assistance?" 

"More  than  ever,"  answered  the  General,  firmly. 

"Then  tell  me:  what  can  you  offer  the  Phanf  asms  that 
they  have  not  already?"  inquired  the  First  and  Foremost. 

Guph  hesitated.  He  really  did  not  know  what  to  say. 
The  Nome  King's  vaunted  Magic  Belt  seemed  a  poor  thing 
compared  to  the  astonishing  magical  powers  of  these  people. 
Gold,  jewels  and  slaves  they  might  secure  in  any  quantity 
without  especial  effort.  He  felt  that  he  was  dealing  with 
powers  greatly  beyond  him.  There  was  but  one  argument 
that  might  influence  the  Phanfasms,  who  were  creatures  of 
evil 

124 


Chapter  Eleven 


"Permit  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the  exquisite  joy  of 
making  the  happy  unhappy,"  said  he  at  last.  "Consider  the 
pleasure  of  destroying  innocent  and  harmless  people." 

"Ah!  you  have  answered  me,"  cried  the  First  and  Fore 
most.  "For  that  reason  alone  we  will  aid  you.  Go  home, 


and  tell  your  bandy-legged  king  that  as  soon  as  his  tunnel 
is  finished  the  Phanf asms  will  be  with  him  and  lead  his  le 
gions  to  the  conquest  of  Oz.  The  deadly  desert  alone  has 
kept  us  from  destroying  Oz  long  ago,  and  your  underground 
tunnel  is  a  clever  thought.  Go  home,  and  prepare  for  our 
coming!" 

125 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

Guph  was  very  glad  to  be  permitted  to  go  with  this  prom 
ise.  The  owl-man  led  him  back  down  the  mountain  path 
and  ordered  the  scarlet  alligator  to  crawl  away  and  allow  the 
Nome  to  cross  the  bridge  in  safety. 

After  the  visitor  had  gone  a  brilliant  and  gorgeous  city 
appeared  upon  the  mountain  top,  clearly  visible  to  the  eyes 
of  the  gaily  dressed  multitude  of  Phanfasms  that  lived  there. 
And  the  First  and  Foremost,  beautifully  arrayed,  addressed 
the  others  in  these  words : 

"It  is  time  we  went  into  the  world  and  brought  sorrow 
and  dismay  to  its  people.  Too  long  have  we  remained  by 
ourselves  upon  this  mountain  top,  for  while  we  are  thus  se 
cluded  many  nations  have  grown  happy  and  prosperous,  and 
the  chief  joy  of  the  race  of  Phanfasms  is  to  destroy  happi 
ness.  So  I  think  it  is  lucky  that  this  messenger  from  the 
Nomes  arrived  among  us  just  now,  to  remind  us  that  the  op 
portunity  has  come  for  us  to  make  trouble.  We  will  use  King 
Roquat's  tunnel  to  conquer  the  Land  of  Oz.  Then  we  will 
destroy  the  Whimsies,  the  Growleywogs  and  the  Nomes,  and 
afterward  go  out  to  ravage  and  annoy  and  grieve  the  whole 
world." 

The  multitude  of  evil  Phanfasms  eagerly  applauded  this 
plan,  which  they  fully  approved. 

I  am  told  that  the  Erbs  are  the  most  powerful  and  mer 
ciless  of  all  the  evil  spirits,  and  the  Phanfasms  of  Phantas- 
tico  belong  to  the  race  of  Erbs. 

126 


DOROTHY  and  her  fellow  travelers  rode  away  from  the 
Cuttenclip  village  and  followed  the  indistinct  path  as  far  as 
the  sign-post.  Here  they  took  the  main  road  again  and  pro 
ceeded  pleasantly  through  the  pretty  farming  country. 
When  evening  came  they  stopped  at  a  dwelling  and  were 
joyfully  welcomed  and  given  plenty  to  eat  and  good  beds  for 
the  night. 

Early  next  morning,  however,  they  were  up  and  eager  to 
start,  and  after  a  good  breakfast  they  bade  their  host  good 
bye  and  climbed  into  the  red  wagon,  to  which  the  Sawhorse 
had  been  hitched  all  night.  Being  made  of  wood,  this  horse 
never  got  tired  nor  cared  to  lie  down.  Dorothy  was  not  quite 
sure  whether  he  ever  slept  or  not,  but  it  was  certain  that  he 
never  did  when  anybody  was  around. 

The  weather  is  always  beautiful  in  Oz,  and  this  morning 

127 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

the  air  was  cool  and  refreshing  and  the  sunshine  brilliant  and 
delightful. 

In  about  an  hour  they  came  to  a  place  where  another  road 
branched  off.    There  was  a  sign-post  here  which  read : 

THIS  WAY  TO  FUDDLECUMJIG 


"Oh,  here  is  where  we  turn,"  said  Dorothy,  observing  the 
sign. 

"What!  Are  we  going  to  Fuddlecumjig?'  asked  the 
Captain  General. 

uYes;  Ozma  thought  we  would  enjoy  the  Fuddles.  They 
are  said  to  be  very  interesting,"  she  replied. 

"No  one  would  suspect  it  from  their  name,"  said  Aunt 
Em.  "Who  are  they,  anyhow?  More  paper  things'?" 

"I  think  not,"  answered  Dorothy,  laughing;  "but  I 
can't  say  'zactly,  Aunt  Em,  what  they  are.  We  '11  find  out 
when  we  get  there." 

"Perhaps  the  Wizard  knows,"  suggested  Uncle  Henry. 

"No;  I  've  never  been  there  before,"  said  the  Wizard. 
"But  I  've  often  heard  of  Fuddlecumjig  and  the  Fuddles, 
who  are  said  to  be  the  most  peculiar  people  in  all  the  Land 
of  Oz." 

"In  what  way?'  asked  the  Shaggy  Man. 
"I  don't  know,  I  'm  sure,"  said  the  Wizard. 
Just  then,  as  they  rode  along  the  pretty  green  lane  to- 

128 


Chapter  Twelve 


ward  Fuddlecumjig,  they  espied  a  kangaroo  sitting  by  the 
roadside.  The  poor  animal  had  its  face  covered  with  both 
its  front  paws  and  was  crying  so  bitterly  that  the  tears 
coursed  down  its  cheeks  in  two  tiny  streams  and  trickled 
across  the  road,  where  they  formed  a  pool  in  a  small  hol 
low. 


The  Sawhorse  stopped  short  at  this  pitiful  sight,  and 
Dorothy  cried  out,  with  ready  sympathy  : 

"What  's  the  matter,  Kangaroo?" 

"Boo-hoo!  Boo-hoo!"  wailed  the  kangaroo;  "I  Ve  lost 
my  mi — mi — mi — Oh,  boo-hoo !  Boo-hoo !"  — 

i 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Poor  thing,"  said  the  Wizard,  "she  's  lost  her  mister. 
It 's  probably  her  husband,  and  he  's  dead." 

'No,  no,  no!"  sobbed  the  kangaroo.  "It — it  is  n't  that. 
I  've  lost  my  mi — mi —  Oh,  boo,  boo-hoo !" 

"I  know,"  said  the  Shaggy  Man;  "she  's  lost  her  mirror." 

"No;  it 's  my  mi — mi — mi — Boo-hoo!  My  mi — Oh,  Boo- 
hoo!"  and  the  kangaroo  cried  harder  than  ever. 

"It  must  be  her  mince-pie,"  suggested  Aunt  Em. 

"Or  her  milk-toast/3  proposed  Uncle  Henry. 

"I  've  lost  my  mi — mi — mittens!"  said  the  kangaroo,  get 
ting  it  out  at  last. 

"Oh!"  cried  the  Yellow  Hen,  with  a  cackle  of  relief. 
"Why  did  n't  you  say  so  before4?" 

"Boo-hoo!    I — I — could  n't,"  answered  the  kangaroo. 

"But,  see  here,"  said  Dorothy,  "you  don't  need  mittens 
this  warm  weather." 

"Yes,  indeed  I  do,"  replied  the  animal,  stopping  her  sobs 
and  removing  her  paws  from  her  face  to  look  at  the  little  girl 
reproachfully.  "My  hands  will  get  all  sunburned  and  tanned 
without  my  mittens,  and  I  've  worn  them  so  long  that  I  '11 
probably  catch  cold  without  them." 

"Nonsense!"  said  Dorothy.  "I  never  heard  before  of  any 
kangaroo  wearing  mittens." 

"Did  n't  you?'  asked  the  animal,  as  if  surprised 

130 


Chapter  Twelve 


"Never!"  repeated  the  girl.  "And  you  '11  probably  make 
yourself  sick  if  you  don't  stop  crying.  Where  do  you  live?' 

"About  two  miles  beyond  Fuddlecumjig,"  was  the  an 
swer.  "Grandmother  Gnit  made  me  the  mittens,  and  she  's 
one  of  the  Fuddles." 

"Well,  you  'd  better  go  home  now,  and  perhaps  the  old 
lady  will  make  you  another  pair,"  suggested  Dorothy. 
"We  're  on  our  way  to  Fuddlecumjig,  and  you  may  hop  along 
beside  us." 

So  they  rode  on,  and  the  kangaroo  hopped  beside  the  red 
wagon  and  seemed  quickly  to  have  forgotten  her  loss.  By  and 
by  the  Wizard  said  to  the  animal : 

"Are  the  Fuddles  nice  people?" 

"Oh,  very  nice,"  answered  the  kangaroo;  "that  is,  when 
they  're  properly  put  together.  But  they  get  dreadfully  scat 
tered  and  mixed  up,  at  times,  and  then  you  can't  do  anything 
with  them." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  their  getting  scattered?"  in 
quired  Dorothy. 

"Why,  they  're  made  in  a  good  many  small  pieces,"  ex 
plained  the  kangaroo;  "and  whenever  any  stranger  comes 
near  them  they  have  a  habit  of  falling  apart  and  scattering 
themselves  around.  That  's  when  they  get  so  dreadfully 
mixed,  and  its  a%  hard  puzzle  to  put  them  together  again." 
Who  usually  puts  them  together?"  asked  Omby  Amby. 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Any  one  who  is  able  to  match  the  pieces.  I  sometimes 
put  Grandmother  Gnit  together  myself,  because  I  know  her 
so  well  I  can  tell  every  piece  that  belongs  to  her.  Then,  when 
she  Js  all  matched,  she  knits  for  me,  and  that 's  how  she  made 
my  mittens.  But  it  took  a  good  many  days  hard  knitting,  and 
I  had  to  put  Grandmother  together  a  good  many  times,  be 
cause  every  time  I  came  near  she  'd  scatter  herself." 

"I  should  think  she  would  get  used  to  your  coming,  and 
not  be  afraid,"  said  Dorothy. 

"It  is  n't  that,"  replied  the  kangaroo.  "They  're  not  a 
bit  afraid,  when  they  're  put  together,  and  usually  they  're 
very  jolly  and  pleasant.  It  Js  just  a  habit  they  have,  to  scat 
ter  themselves,  and  if  they  did  n't  do  it  they  would  n't  be 
Fuddles." 

The  travelers  thought  upon  this  quite  seriously  for  a  time, 
while  the  Sawhorse  continued  to  carry  them  rapidly  forward. 
Then  Aunt  Em  remarked  : 

"I  don't  see  much  use  our  visitin'  these  Fuddles.  If  we 
find  them  scattered,  all  we  can  do  is  to  sweep  'em  up,  and 
then  go  about  our  business." 

"Oh,  I  b'lieve  we  'd  better  go  on,"  replied  Dorothy.  "I  'm 
getting  hungry,  and  we  must  try  to  get  some  luncheon  at 
Fuddlecumjig.  Perhaps  the  food  won't  be  scattered  as  badly 
as  the  people." 

"You  '11  find  plenty  to  eat  there,"  declared  the  kangaroo, 

132 


Chapter  Twelve 


hopping  along  in  big  bounds  because  the  Sawhorse  was  going 
so  fast;  "and  they  have  a  fine  cook,  too,  if  you  can  manage 
to  put  him  together.  There  's  the  town  now — just  ahead  of 


us!5 


They  looked  ahead  and  saw  a  group  of  very  pretty  houses 
standing  in  a  green  field  a  little  apart  from  the  main  road. 

"Some  Munchkins  came  here  a  few  days  ago  and  matched 
a  lot  of  people  together,"  said  the  kangaroo.  "I  think  they 
are  together  yet,  and  if  you  go  softly,  without  making  any 
noise,  perhaps  they  won't  scatter." 

"Let  's  try  it,"  suggested  the  Wizard. 

So  they  stopped  the  Sawhorse  and  got  out  of  the  wagon, 
and,  after  bidding  good  bye  to  the  kangaroo,  who  hopped 
away  home,  they  entered  the  field  and  very  cautiously  ap 
proached  the  group  of  houses. 

So  silently  did  they  move  that  soon  they  saw  through  the 
windows  of  the  houses,  people  moving  around,  while  others 
were  passing  to  and  fro  in  the  yards  between  the  buildings. 
They  seemed  much  like  other  people,  from  a  distance,  and 
apparently  they  did  not  notice  the  little  party  so  quietly  ap 
proaching. 

They  had  almost  reached  the  nearest  house  when  Toto 
saw  a  large  beetle  crossing  the  path  and  barked  loudly  at  it. 
Instantly  a  wild  clatter  was  heard  from  the  houses  and  yards. 
Dorothy  thought  it  sounded  like  a  sudden  hailstorm,  and 

133 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

the  visitors,  knowing  that  caution  was  no  longer  necessary, 
hurried  forward  to  see  what  had  happened. 

After  the  clatter  an  intense  stillness  reigned  in  the  town. 
The  strangers  entered  the  first  house  they  came  to,  which 
was  also  the  largest,  and  found  the  floor  strewn  with  pieces 
of  the  people  who  lived  there.  They  looked  much  like  frag 
ments  of  wood  neatly  painted,  and  were  of  all  sorts  of  cu 
rious  and  fantastic  shapes,  no  two  pieces  being  in  any  way 
alike. 

They  picked  up  some  of  these  pieces  and  looked  at  them 
carefully.  On  one  which  Dorothy  held  was  an  eye,  which 
looked  at  her  pleasantly  but  with  an  interested  expression, 
as  if  it  wondered  what  she  was  going  to  do  with  it.  Quite 
near  by  she  discovered  and  picked  up  a  nose,  and  by  match 
ing  the  two  pieces  together  found  that  they  were  part  of  a 
face. 

"If  I  could  find  the  mouth,"  she  said,  "this  Fuddle  might 
be  able  to  talk,  and  tell  us  what  to  do  next." 

"Then  let  us  find  it,"  replied  the  Wizard,  and  so  all  got 
down  on  their  hands  and  knees  and  began  examing  the  scat 
tered  pieces. 

"I  've  found  it!"  cried  the  Shaggy  Man,  and  ran  to  Doro 
thy  with  a  queer-shaped  piece  that  had  a  mouth  on  it.  But 
when  they  tried  to  fit  it  to  the  eye  and  nose  they  found  the 
parts  would  n't  match  together. 

134 


Chapter  Twelve 


"That  mouth  belongs  to  some  other  person,"  said  Doro 
thy.  "You  see  we  need  a  curve  here  and  a  point  there,  to 
make  it  fit  the  face." 

"Well,  it  must  be  here  some  place,"  declared  the  Wizard; 
"so  if  we  search  long  enough  we  shall  find  it." 

Dorothy  fitted  an  ear  on  next,  and  the  ear  had  a  little 
patch  of  red  hair  above  it.  So  while  the  others  were  search 
ing  for  the  mouth  she  hunted  for  pieces  with  red  hair,  and 
found  several  of  them  which,  when  matched  to  the  other 
pieces,  formed  the  top  of  a  man's  head.  She  had  also  found 
the  other  eye  and  the  ear  by  the  time  Omby  Amby  in  a  far  cor 
ner  discovered  the  mouth.  When  the  face  was  thus  com 
pleted  all  the  parts  joined  together  with  a  nicety  that  was 
astonishing. 

"Why,  it  's  like  a  picture  puzzle!"  exclaimed  the  little 
girl.  "Let 's  find  the  rest  of  him,  and  get  him  all  together." 

"What 's  the  rest  of  him  like?'  asked  the  Wizard,  "Here 
are  some  pieces  of  blue  legs  and  green  arms,  but  I  don't  know 
whether  they  are  his  or  not." 

"Look  for  a  white  shirt  and  a  white  apron,"  said  the  head 
which  had  been  put  together,  speaking  in  a  rather  faint  voice. 
"I  'm  the  cook." 

"Oh,  thank  you,"  said  Dorothy.  "It  's  lucky  we  started 
you  first,  for  I  'm  hungry,  and  you  can  be  cooking  something 
for  us  to  eat  while  we  match  the  other  folks  together." 

135 


The  Emerald   City  of  Oz 

It  was  not  so  very  difficult,  now  that  they  had  a  hint  as 
to  how  the  man  was  dressed,  to  find  the  other  pieces  belong 
ing  to  him,  and  as  all  of  them  now  worked  on  the  cook,  trying 
piece  after  piece  to  see  if  it  would  fit,  they  finally  had  the 
cook  set  up  complete. 

When  he  was  finished  he  made  them  a  low  bow  and  said : 

"I  will  go  at  once  to  the  kitchen  and  prepare  your  din 
ner.  You  will  find  it  something  of  a  job  to  get  all  the  Fud 
dles  together,  so  I  advise  you  to  begin  on  the  Lord  High 
Chigglewitz,  whose  first  name  is  Larry.  He  's  a  bald-headed 
fat  man  and  is  dressed  in  a  blue  coat  with  brass  buttons,  a 
pink  vest  and  drab  breeches.  A  piece  of  his  left  knee  is 
missing,  having  been  lost  years  ago  when  he  scattered  himself 
too  carelessly.  That  makes  him  limp  a  little,  but  he  gets 
along  very  well  with  half  a  knee.  As  he  is  the  chief  person 
age  in  this  town  of  Fuddlecumjig,  he  will  be  able  to  welcome 
you  and  assist  you  with  the  others.  So  it  will  be  best  to  work 
on  him  while  I  'm  getting  your  dinner." 

"We  will,"  said  the  Wizard;  "and  thank  you  very  much, 
Cook,  for  the  suggestion." 

Aunt  Em  was  the  first  to  discover  a  piece  of  the  Lord 
High  Chigglewitz. 

"It  seems  to  me  like  a  fool  business,  this  matching  folks 
together,"  she  remarked;  "but  as  we  have  n't  anything  to  do 
till  dinner  's  ready  we  may  as  well  get  rid  of  some  of  this 

136 


Chapter  Twelve 


rubbish.  Here,  Henry,  get  busy  and  look  for  Larry's  bald 
head.  I  've  got  his  pink  vest,  all  right." 

They  worked  with  eager  interest,  and  Billina  proved  a 
great  help  to  them.  The  Yellow  Hen  had  sharp  eyes  and 
could  put  her  head  close  to  the  various  pieces  that  lay  scat 
tered  around.  She  would  examine  the  Lord  High  Chiggle- 
witz  and  see  which  piece  of  him  was  next  needed,  and  then 
hunt  around  until  she  found  it.  So  before  an  hour  had  passed 
old  Larry  was  standing  complete  before  them. 

"I  congratulate  you,  my  friends,"  he  said,  speaking  in  a 
cheerful  voice.  "You  are  certainly  the  cleverest  people  who 
ever  visited  us.  I  was  never  matched  together  so  quickly  in 
my  life.  I  'm  considered  a  great  puzzle,  usually." 

"Well,"  said  Dorothy,  "there  used  to  be  a  picture  puzzle 
craze  in  Kansas,  and  so  I  've  had  some  'sperience  matching 
puzzles.  But  the  pictures  were  flat,  while  you  are  round,  and 
that  makes  you  harder  to  figure  out." 

"Thank  you,  my  dear,"  replied  old  Larry,  greatly  pleased. 
"I  feel  highly  complimented.  Were  I  not  a  really  good  puz 
zle  there  would  be  no  object  in  my  scattering  myself." 

"Why  do  you  do  it?"  asked  Aunt  Em,  severely.  "Why 
don't  you  behave  yourself,  and  stay  put  together?" 

The  Lord  High  Chigglewitz  seemed  annoyed  by  this 
speech;  but  he  replied,  politely: 

"Madam,  you  have  perhaps  noticed  that  every  person 

137 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

has  some  peculiarity.  Mine  is  to  scatter  myself.  What  your 
own  peculiarity  is  I  will  not  venture  to  say;  but  I  shall  never 
find  fault  with  you,  whatever  you  do." 

"Now,  you  've  got  your  diploma,  Em,"  said  Uncle  Henry, 
with  a  laugh,  "and  I  'm  glad  of  it.  This  is  a  queer  country, 
and  we  may  as  well  take  people  as  we  find  them." 

"If  we  did,  we  'd  leave  these  folks  scattered,"  she  re 
turned,  and  this  retort  made  everybody  laugh  good-na 
turedly. 

Just  then  Omby  Amby  found  a  hand  with  a  knitting 
needle  in  it,  and  they  decided  to  put  Grandmother  Gnit  to 
gether.  She  proved  an  easier  puzzle  than  old  Larry,  and 
when  she  was  completed  they  found  her  a  pleasant  old  lady 
who  welcomed  them  cordially.  Dorothy  told  her  how  the 
kangaroo  had  lost  her  mittens,  and  Grandmother  Gnit 
promised  to  set  to  work  at  once  and  make  the  poor  animal  an 
other  pair. 

Then  the  cook  came  to  call  them  to  dinner,  and  they  found 
an  inviting  meal  prepared  for  them.  The  Lord  High  Chig- 
glewitz  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table  and  Grandmother  Gnit 
at  the  foot,  and  the  guests  had  a  merry  time  and  thoroughly 
enjoyed  themselves. 

After  dinner  they  went  out  into  the  yard  and  matched 
several  other  people  together,  and  this  work  was  so  interest 
ing  that  they  might  have  spent  the  entire  day  at  Fuddlecum- 

138 

. 


Chapter  Twe  1  ve 


jig  had  not  the  Wizard  suggested  that  they  resume  their 
journey. 

"But  I  don't  like  to  leave  all  these  poor  people  scattered," 
said  Dorothy,  undecided  what  to  do. 

"Oh,    don't  mind   us,   my   dear,"    returned   old   Larry. 


"Every  day  or  so  some  of  the  Gillikins,  or  Munchkins,  or 
Winkles  come  here  to  amuse  themselves  by  matching  us  to 
gether,  so  there  will  be  no  harm  in  leaving  these  pieces  where 
they  are  for  a  time.  But  I  hope  you  will  visit  us  again,  and 
if  you  do  you  will  always  be  welcome,  I  assure  you." 
'Don't  you  ever  match  each  other?"  she  inquired. 

139 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Never;  for  we  are  no  puzzies  to  ourselves,  and  so  there 
would  n't  be  any  fun  in  it." 

They  now  said  goodbye  to  the  queer  Fuddles  and  got 
into  their  wagon  to  continue  their  journey. 

"Those  are  certainly  strange  people,"  remarked  Aunt  Em, 
thoughfully,  as  they  drove  away  from  Fuddlecumjig,  "but 
I  really  can't  see  what  use  they  are,  at  all." 

"Why,  they  amused  us  all  for  several  hours,"  replied  the 
Wizard.  "That  is  being  of  use  to  us,  I  'm  sure." 

"I  think  they  're  more  fun  than  playing  solitaire  or  mum- 
bletypeg,"  declared  Uncle  Henry,  soberly.  "For  my  part, 
I  'm  glad  we  visited  the  Fuddles." 


140 


WHEN  General  Guph  returned  to  the  cavern  of  the  Nome 
King  his  Majesty  asked: 

"Well,  what  luck?    Will  the  Whimsies  join  us?" 

"They  will,"  answered  the  General.  "They  will  fight  for 
us  with  all  their  strength  and  cunning." 

"Good!"  exclaimed  the  King.  "What  reward  did  you 
promise  them?" 

"Your  Majesty  is  to  use  the  Magic  Belt  to  give  each 
Whimsie  a  large,  fine  head,  in  place  of  the  small  one  he  is  now 
obliged  to  wear." 

"I  agree  to  that,"  said  the  King.  "This  is  good  news, 
Guph,  and  it  makes  me  feel  more  certain  of  the  conquest  of 
Oz." 

"But  I  have  other  news  for  you,"  announced  the  General. 

"Good  or  bad?" 

141 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Good,  your  Majesty." 

"Then  I  will  hear  it,"  said  the  King,  with  interest. 

"The  Growleywogs  will  join  us." 

"No!"  cried  the  astonished  King. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  said  the  General.     "I  have  their  prom 


ise.'3 


"But  what  reward  do  they  demand?"  inquired  the  King, 
suspiciously,  for  he  knew  how  greedy  the  Growleywogs  were. 

"They  are  to  take  a  few  of  the  Oz  people  for  their  slaves," 
replied  Guph.  He  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  tell  Roquat 
that  the  Growleywogs  demanded  twenty  thousand  slaves. 
It  would  be  time  enough  for  that  when  Oz  was  conquered. 

"A  very  reasonable  request,  I  'm  sure,"  remarked  the 
King.  "I  must  congratulate  you,  Guph,  upon  the  wonder 
ful  success  of  your  journey." 

"But  that  is  not  all,"  said  the  General,  proudly. 

The  King  seemed  astonished. 

"Speak  out,  sir!"  he  commanded. 

"I  have  seen  the  First  and  Foremost  Phanfasm  of  the 
Mountain  of  Phantastico,  and  he  will  bring  his  people  to 


assist  us." 


"What!"  cried  the  King.    "The  Phanf asms !    You  don't 
mean  it,  Guph!" 

"It  is  true,"  declared  the  General,  proudly. 
The  King  became  thoughtful,  and  his  brows  wrinkled. 

142 


Chapter  Thirteen 


"I  Jm  afraid,  Guph,"  he  said  rather  anxiously,  "that  the 
First  and  Foremost  may  prove  as  dangerous  to  us  as  to  the  Oz 
people.  If  he  and  his  terrible  band  come  down  from  the 
mountain  they  may  take  the  notion  to  conquer  the  Nomes!" 

"Pah!  That  is  a  foolish  idea,"  retorted  Guph,  irritably, 
but  he  knew  in  his  heart  that  the  King  was  right.  "The  First 
and  Foremost  is  a  particular  friend  of  mine,  and  will  do  us 
no  harm.  Why,  when  I  was  there,  he  even  invited  me  into 
his  house." 

The  General  neglected  to  tell  the  King  how  he  had  been 
jerked  into  the  hut  of  the  First  and  Foremost  by  means  of 
the  brass  hoop.  So  Roquat  the  Red  looked  at  his  General 
admiringly  and  said : 

"You  are  a  wonderful  Nome,  Guph.  I  'm  sorry  I  did 
not  make  you  my  General  before.  But  what  reward  did  the 
First  and  Foremost  demand?" 

"Nothing  at  all,"  answered  Guph.  "Even  the  Magic 
Belt  itself  could  not  add  to  his  powers  of  sorcery.  All  the 
Phanfasms  wish  is  to  destroy  the  Oz  people,  who  are  good 
and  happy.  This  pleasure  will  amply  repay  them  for  assist 
ing  us." 

"When  will  they  come?"  asked  Roquat,  half  fearfully. 

"When  the  tunnel  is  completed,"  said  the  General. 

"We  are  nearly  half  way  under  the  desert  now,"  an 
nounced  the  King;  "and  that  is  fast  work,  because  the  tunnel 

H3 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

has  to  be  drilled  through  solid  rock.  But  after  we  have  passed 
the  desert  it  will  not  take  us  long  to  extend  the  tunnel  to  the 
walls  of  the  Emerald  City." 

"Well,  whenever  you  are  ready,  we  shall  be  joined  by  the 
Whimsies,  the  Growleywogs  and  the  Phanfasms,"  said 
Guph;  "so  the  conquest  of  Oz  is  assured  without  a  doubt." 

Again  the  King  seemed  thoughtful. 

"I  'm  almost  sorry  we  did  not  undertake  the  conquest 
alone,"  said  he.  "All  of  these  allies  are  dangerous  people, 
and  they  may  demand  more  than  you  have  promised  them. 
It  might  have  been  better  to  have  conquered  Oz  without  any 
outside  assistance." 

"We  could  not  do  it,"  said  the  General,  positively. 

"Why  not,  Guph?" 

"You  know  very  well.  You  have  had  one  experience 
with  the  Oz  people,  and  they  defeated  you." 

"That  was  because  they  rolled  eggs  at  us,"  replied  the 
King,  with  a  shudder.  "My  Nomes  cannot  stand  eggs,  any 
more  than  I  can  myself.  They  are  poison  to  all  who  live 
underground." 

'That  is  true  enough,"  agreed  Guph. 

"But  we  might  have  taken  the  Oz  people  by  surprise,  and 
conquered  them  before  they  had  a  chance  to  get  any  eggs. 
Our  former  defeat  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  girl  Dorothy 
had  a  Yellow  Hen  with  her.  I  do  not  know  what  ever  be- 

144 


Chapter  Thirteen 


came  of  that  hen,  but  I  believe  there  are  no  hens  at  all  in  the 
Land  of  Oz,  and  so  there  could  be  no  eggs  there." 

"On  the  contrary,"  said  Guph,  "there  are  now  hundreds 
of  chickens  in  Oz,  and  they  lay  heaps  of  those  dangerous  eggs. 
I  met  a  goshawk  on  my  way  home,  and  the  bird  informed  me 
that  he  had  lately  been  to  Oz  to  capture  and  devour  some  of 


the  young  chickens.    But  they  are  protected  by  magic,  so  tne 
hawk  did  not  get  a  single  one  of  them." 

"That  is  a  very  bad  report,"  said  the  King,  nervously. 
"Very  bad,  indeed.  My  Nomes  are  willing  to  fight,  but  they 
simply  can't  face  hen's  eggs — and  I  don't  blame  them." 


The  Emerald  City  of   Oz 

They  won't  need  to  face  them,"  replied  Guph.  "I  'm 
afraid  of  eggs  myself,  and  don't  propose  to  take  any  chances 
of  being  poisoned  by  them.  My  plan  is  to  send  the  Whim 
sies  through  the  tunnel  first,  and  then  the  Growleywogs  and 
the  Phanfasms.  By  the  time  we  Nomes  get  there  the  eggs 
will  all  be  used  up,  and  we  may  then  pursue  and  capture  the 
inhabitants  at  our  leisure." 

"Perhaps  you  are  right,"  returned  the  King,  with  a  dis 
mal  sigh.  "But  I  want  it  distinctly  understood  that  I  claim 
Ozma  and  Dorothy  as  my  own  prisoners.  They  are  rather 
nice  girls,  and  I  do  not  intend  to  let  any  of  those  dreadful 
creatures  hurt  them,  or  make  them  their  slaves.  When  I  have 
captured  them  I  will  bring  them  here  and  transform  them 
into  china  ornaments  to  stand  on  my  mantle.  They  will  look 
very  pretty — Dorothy  on  one  end  of  the  mantle  and  Ozma 
on  the  other — and  I  shall  take  great  care  to  see  they  are  not 
broken  when  the  maids  dust  them." 

"Very  well,  your  Majesty.  Do  what  you  will  with  the 
girls,  for  all  I  care.  Now  that  our  plans  are  arranged,  and 
we  have  the  three  most  powerful  bands  of  evil  spirits  in  the 
world  to  assist  us,  let  us  make  haste  to  get  the  tunnel  finished 
as  soon  as  possible." 

"It  will  be  ready  in  three  days,"  promised  the  King,  and 
hurried  away  to  inspect  the  work  and  see  that  the  Nomes 
kept  busy. 

146 


"WHERE  next?"  asked  the  Wizard,  when  they  had  left  the 
town  of  Fuddlecumjig  and  the  Sawhorse  had  started  back 
along  the  road. 

"Why,  Ozma  laid  out  this  trip,"  replied  Dorothy,  "and 
she  'vised  us  to  see  the  Rigmaroles  next,  and  then  visit  the 
Tin  Woodman." 

"That  sounds  good,"  said  the  Wizard.  "But  what  road 
do  we  take  to  get  to  the  Rigmaroles?" 

"I  don't  know,  'zactly,"  returned  the  little  girl;  "but  it 
must  be  somewhere  just  southwest  from  here." 

"Then  why  need  we  go  way  back  to  the  crossroads?" 
asked  the  Shaggy  Man.  "We  might  save  a  lot  of  time  by 
branching  off  here." 

"There  is  n't  any  path,"  asserted  Uncle  Henry. 

147 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Then  we  5d  better  go  back  to  the  signposts,  and  make 
sure  of  our  way,"  decided  Dorothy. 

But  after  they  had  gone  a  short  distance  farther  the  Saw- 
horse,  who  had  overheard  their  conversation,  stopped  and 
said : 

"Here  is  a  path." 

Sure  enough,  a  dim  path  seemed  to  branch  off  from  the 
road  they  were  on,  and  it  led  across  pretty  green  meadows 
and  past  leafy  groves,  straight  toward  the  southwest. 

"That  looks  like  a  good  path,"  said  Omby  Amby.  "Why 
not  try  it?" 

"All  right,"  answered  Dorothy.  "I  'm  anxious  to  see 
what  the  Rigmaroles  are  like,  and  this  path  ought  to  take 
us  there  the  quickest  way." 

No  one  made  any  objection  to  the  plan,  so  the  Sawhorse 
turned  into  the  path,  which  proved  to  be  nearly  as  good  as  the 
one  they  had  taken  to  get  to  the  Fuddles. 

At  first  they  passed  a  few  retired  farm  houses,  but  soon 
these  scattered  dwellings  were  left  behind  and  only  the  mead 
ows  and  the  trees  were  before  them.  But  they  rode  along 
in  cheerful  contentment,  and  Aunt  Em  got  into  an  argument 
with  Billina  about  the  proper  way  to  raise  chickens. 

"I  do  not  care  to  contradict  you,"  said  the  Yellow  Hen, 
with  dignity,  "but  I  have  an  idea  I  know  more  about  chickens 
than  human  beings  do." 

148 


Chapter  Fourteen 

"Pshaw!"  replied  Aunt  Em,  "I  've  raised  chickens  for 
nearly  forty  years,  Billina,  and  I  know  you  've  got  to  starve 
'em  to  make  'em  lay  lots  of  eggs,  and  stuff  'em  if  you  want 
good  broilers." 

"Broilers!"  exclaimed  Billina,  in  horror.  "Broil  my 
chickens!" 

"Why,  that  's  what  they  're  for,  ain't  it?"  asked  Aunt 
Em,  astonished. 

"No,  Aunt,  not  in  Oz,"  said  Dorothy.  "People  do  not 
eat  chickens  here.  You  see,  Billina  was  the  first  hen  that  was 
ever  seen  in  this  country,  and  I  brought  her  here  myself. 
Everybody  liked  her  an'  respected  her,  so  the  Oz  people 
would  n't  any  more  eat  her  chickens  than  they  would  eat 
Billina." 

"Well,  I  declare,"  gasped  Aunt  Em.  "How  about  the 
eggs?" 

"Oh,  if  we  have  more  eggs  than  we  want  to  hatch,  we  al 
low  people  to  eat  them,"  said  Billina.  "Indeed,  I  am  very 
glad  the  Oz  folks  like  our  eggs,  for  otherwise  they  would 
spoil." 

"This  certainly  is  a  queer  country,"  sighed  Aunt  Em. 

"Excuse  me,"  called  the  Sawhorse,  "the  path  has  ended 
and  I  'd  like  to  know  which  way  to  go." 

They  looked  around  and,  sure  enough,  there  was  no  path 
to  be  seen. 

149 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Well,"  said  Dorothy,  "we  're  going  southwest,  and  it 
seems  just  as  easy  to  follow  that  direction  without  a  path  as 
with  one." 

"Certainly,"  answered  the  Sawhorse.  "It  is  not  hard  to 
draw  the  wagon  over  the  meadow.  I  only  want  to  know 
where  to  go." 

"There  's  a  forest  over  there  across  the  prairie,"  said  the 
Wizard,  "and  it  lies  in  the  direction  we  are  going.  Make 
straight  for  the  forest,  Sawhorse,  and  you  're  bound  to  go 
right." 

So  the  wooden  animal  trotted  on  again  and  the  meadow 
grass  was  so  soft  under  the  wheels  that  it  made  easy  riding. 
But  Dorothy  was  a  little  uneasy  at  losing  the  path,  because 
now  there  was  nothing  to  guide  them. 

No  houses  were  to  be  seen  at  all,  so  they  could  not  ask 
their  way  of  any  farmer;  and  although  the  Land  of  Oz  was 
always  beautiful,  wherever  one  might  go,  this  part  of  the 
country  was  strange  to  all  the  party. 

"Perhaps  we  're  lost,"  suggested  Aunt  Em,  after  they  had 
proceeded  quite  a  way  in  silence. 

"Never  mind,"  said  the  Shaggy  Man;  "I've  been  lost 
many  a  time — and  so  has  Dorothy — and  we  Ve  always  been 
found  again." 

"But   we  may  get   hungry,"    remarked   Omby  Amby. 

150 


Chapter  Fourteen 


"That  is  the  worst  of  getting  lost  in  a  place  where  there  are 
no  houses  near." 

"We  had  a  good  dinner  at  the  Fuddle  town,"  said  Uncle 
Henry,  "and  that  will  keep  us  from  starving  to  death  for  a 
long  time." 

"No  one  ever  starved  to  death  in  Oz,"  declared  Dorothy, 
positively;  "but  people  may  get  pretty  hungry  sometimes." 

The  Wizard  said  nothing,  and  he  did  not  seem  especially 
anxious.  The  Sawhorse  was  trotting  along  briskly,  yet  the 
forest  seemed  farther  away  than  they  had  thought  when  they 
first  saw  it.  So  it  was  nearly  sundown  when  they  finally 
came  to  the  trees ;  but  now  they  found  themselves  in  a  most 
beautiful  spot,  the  wide-spreading  trees  being  covered  with 
flowering  vines  and  having  soft  mosses  underneath  them. 

"This  will  be  a  good  place  to  camp,"  said  the  Wizard,  as 
the  Sawhorse  stopped  for  further  instructions. 

"Camp!"  they  all  echoed. 

"Certainly,"  asserted  the  Wizard.  "It  will  be  dark  be 
fore  very  long  and  we  cannot  travel  through  this  forest  at 
night.  So  let  us  make  a  camp  here,  and  have  some  supper, 
and  sleep  until  daylight  comes  again." 

They  all  looked  at  the  little  man  in  astonishment,  and 
Aunt  Em  said,  with  a  sniff : 

"A  pretty  camp  we  '11  have,  I  must  say !  I  suppose  you  in 
tend  us  to  sleep  under  the  wagon." 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"And  chew  grass  for  our  supper,"  added  the  Shaggy  Man, 
laughing. 

But  Dorothy  seemed  to  have  no  doubts  and  was  quite 
cheerful. 

"It  's  lucky  we  have  the  wonderful  Wizard  with  us," 
she  said;  "because  he  can  do  'most  anything  he  wants  to." 

"Oh,  yes;  I  forgot  we  had  a  Wizard,"  said  Uncle  Henry, 
looking  at  the  little  man  curiously. 

"I  did  n't,"  chirped  Billina,  contentedly. 

The  Wizard  smiled  and  climbed  out  of  the  wagon,  and 
all  the  others  followed  him. 

"In  order  to  camp,"  said  he,  "the  first  thing  we  need  is 
tents.  Will  some  one  please  lend  me  a  handkerchief?" 

The  Shaggy  Man  offered  him  one,  and  Aunt  Em  another. 
He  took  them  both  and  laid  them  carefully  upon  the  grass 
near  to  the  edge  of  the  forest.    Then  he  laid  his  own  hand 
kerchief  down,  too,  and  standing  a  little  back  from  them  he 
waved  his  left  hand  toward  the  handkerchiefs  and  said  : 
"Tents  of  canvas,  white  as  snow, 
Let  me  see  how  fast  you  grow!" 

Then,  lo  and  behold!  the  handkerchiefs  became  tiny 
tents,  and  as  the  travelers  looked  at  them  the  tents  grew  big 
ger  and  bigger  until  in  a  few  minutes  each  one  was  large 
enough  to  contain  the  entire  party. 

"This,"  said  the  Wizard,  pointing  to  the  first  tent,  "is 

152 


Chapter  Fourteen 


for  the  accomodation  of  the  ladies.  Dorothy,  you  and  your 
Aunt  may  step  inside  and  take  off  your  things." 

Every  one  ran  to  look  inside  the  tent,  and  they  saw  two 
pretty  white  beds,  all  ready  for  Dorothy  and  Aunt  Em,  and 
a  silver  roost  for  Billina.  Rugs  were  spread  upon  the  grassy 
floor  and  some  camp  chairs  and  a  table  completed  the  furni 
ture. 

"Well,  well,  well!  This  beats  anything  I  ever  saw  or 
heard  of!"  exclaimed  Aunt  Em,  and  she  glanced  at  the  Wiz 
ard  almost  fearfully,  as  if  he  might  be  dangerous  because  of 
his  great  powers. 

"Oh,  Mr.  Wizard!  How  did  you  manage  to  do  it?" 
asked  Dorothy. 

"It  3s  a  trick  Glinda  the  Sorceress  taught  me,  and  it  is 
much  better  magic  than  I  used  to  practise  in  Omaha,  or  when 
I  first  came  to  Oz,"  he  answered.  "When  the  Good  Glinda 
found  I  was  to  live  in  the  Emerald  City  always,  she  prom 
ised  to  help  me,  because  she  said  the  Wizard  of  Oz  ought 
really  to  be  a  clever  Wizard,  and  not  a  humbug.  So  we  have 
been  much  together  and  I  am  learning  so  fast  that  I  expect 
to  be  able  to  accomplish  some  really  wonderful  things  in 


time.53 


"You  ' ve  done  it  now !"  declared  Dorothy.    'These  tents 
are  just  wonderful !" 

"But  come  and  see  the  men's  tent,"  said  the  Wizard.  So 

153 


The   Emerald  City  of  Oz 

they  went  to  the  second  tent,  which  had  shaggy  edges  because 
it  had  been  made  from  the  Shaggy  Man's  handkerchief,  and 
found  that  completely  furnished  also.  It  contained  four 
neat  beds  for  Uncle  Henry,  Omby  Amby,  the  Shaggy  Mart 
and  the  Wizard.  Also  there  was  a  soft  rug  for  Toto  to  lie 
upon. 

"The  third  tent,"  explained  the  Wizard,  "is  our  dining 
room  and  kitchen." 

They  visited  that  next,  and  found  a  table  and  dishes  in 
the  dining  tent,  with  plenty  of  those  things  necessary  to  use 
in  cooking.  The  Wizard  carried  out  a  big  kettle  and  set  it 
swinging  on  a  crossbar  before  the  tent.  While  he  was  do 
ing  this  Omby  Amby  and  the  Shaggy  Man  brought  a  supply 
of  twigs  from  the  forest  and  then  they  built  a  fire  underneath 
the  kettle. 

"Nmv,  Dorothy,"  said  the  Wizard,  smiling,  "I  expect  you 
to  cook  v,,  supper." 

"But  there  is  nothing  in  the  kettle,"  she  cried. 

"Are  you  sure?"  inquired  the  Wizard. 

"I  did  n't  see  anything  put  in,  and  I  'm  almost  sure  it 
was  empty  when  you  brought  it  out,"  she  replied. 

"Nevertheless,"  said  the  little  man,  winking  slyly  at 
Uncle  Henry,  "you  will  do  well  to  watch  our  supper,  my 
dear,  and  see  that  it  does  n't  boil  over." 

Then  the  men  took  some  pails  and  went  into  the  forest 

154 


Chapter  Fourteen 


to  search  for  a  spring  of  water,  and  while  they  were  gone 
Aunt  Em  said  to  Dorothy: 

"I  believe  the  Wizard  is  fooling  us.  I  saw  the  kettle  my 
self,  and  when  he  hung  it  over  the  fire  there  was  n't  a  thing 
in  it  but  air." 

"Don't  worry,"   remarked   Billina,   confidently,   as   she 


nestled  in  the  grass  before  the  fire.  "You  '11  find  something 
in  the  kettle  when  it  's  taken  off — and  it  won't  be  poor,  in 
nocent  chickens,  either." 

"Your  hen  has  very  bad  manners,  Dorothy,"  said  Aunt 
Em,  looking  somewhat  disdainfully  at  Billina.  "It  seems 
too  bad  she  ever  learned  how  to  talk." 

155 


TheEmerald  City  of  Oz 

There  might  have  been  another  unpleasant  quarrel  be 
tween  Aunt  Em  and  Billina  had  not  the  men  returned  just 
then  with  their  pails  filled  with  clear,  sparkling  water.  The 
Wizard  told  Dorothy  that  she  was  a  good  cook  and  he  be 
lieved  their  supper  was  ready. 

So  Uncle  Henry  lifted  the  kettle  from  the  fire  and  poured 
its  contents  into  a  big  platter  which  the  Wizard  held  for 
him.  The  platter  was  fairly  heaped  with  a  fine  stew,  smok 
ing  hot,  with  many  kinds  of  vegetables  and  dumplings  and  a 
rich,  delicious  gravy. 

The  Wizard  triumphantly  placed  the  platter  upon  the 
table  in  the  dining  tent  and  then  they  all  sat  down  in  camp 
chairs  to  the  feast. 

There  were  several  other  dishes  on  the  table,  all  carefully 
covered,  and  when  the  time  came  to  remove  these  covers  they 
found  bread  and  butter,  cakes,  cheese,  pickles  and  fruits — 
including  some  of  the  luscious  strawberries  of  Oz. 

No  one  ventured  to  ask  a  question  as  to  how  these  things 
came  there.  They  contented  themselves  by  eating  heartily 
the  good  things  provided,  and  Toto  and  Billina  had  their 
full  share,  you  may  be  sure.  After  the  meal  was  over  Aunt 
Em  whispered  to  Dorothy: 

'That  may  have  been  magic  food,  my  dear,  and  for  that 
reason  perhaps  it  won't  be  very  nourishing;  but  I  'm  willing 
to  say  it  tasted  as  good  as  anything  I  ever  et."  Then  she 

156 


Chapter  Fourteen 


added,  in  a  louder  tone:     "Who  's  going  to  do  the  dishes'?" 
"No  one,  madam,"  answered  the  Wizard.     "The  dishes 
have  'done'  themselves." 

"La  sakes!"  ejaculated  the  good  lady,  holding  up  her 
hands  in  amazement.  For,  sure  enough,  when  she  looked  at 
the  dishes  they  had  a  moment  before  left  upon  the  table, 
she  found  them  all  washed  and  dried  and  piled  up  into  neat 
stacks. 


157 


IT  was  a  beautiful  evening,  so  they  drew  their  camp  chairs 
in  a  circle  before  one  of  the  tents  and  began  to  tell  stories 
to  amuse  themselves  and  pass  away  the  time  before  they 
went  to  bed. 

Pretty  soon  a  zebra  was  seen  coming  out  of  the  forest, 
and  he  trotted  straight  up  to  them  and  said  politely: 

"Good  evening,  people." 

The  zebra  was  a  sleek  little  animal  and  had  a  slender 
head,  a  stubby  mane  and  a  paint-brush  tail — very  like  a  don 
key's.  His  neatly  shaped  white  body  was  covered  with  regu 
lar  bars  of  dark  brown,  and  his  hoofs  were  delicate  as  those 
of  a  deer. 

"Good  evening,  friend  Zebra,"  said  Omby  Amby,  in  reply 
to  the  creature's  greeting.  "Can  we  do  anything  for  you?" 

158 


Chapter  Fifteen 


"Yes,"  answered  the  zebra.  "I  should  like  you  to  set 
tle  a  dispute  that  has  long  been  a  bother  to  me,  as  to  whether 
there  is  more  water  or  land  in  the  world." 

9 

"Who  are  you  disputing  with?"  asked  the  Wizard. 

"With  a  soft-shell  crab,"  said  the  zebra.  "He  lives  in 
a  pool  where  I  go  to  drink  every  day,  and  he  is  a  very  imperti 
nent  crab,  I  assure  you.  I  have  told  him  many  times  that  the 
land  is  much  greater  in  extent  than  the  water,  but  he  will  not 
be  convinced.  Even  this  very  evening,  when  I  told  him  he 
was  an  insignificant  creature  who  lived  in  a  small  pool,  he 
asserted  that  the  water  was  greater  and  more  important  than 
the  land.  So,  seeing  your  camp,  I  decided  to  ask  you  to  set 
tle  the  dispute  for  once  and  all,  that  I  may  not  be  further  an 
noyed  by  this  ignorant  crab." 

When  they  had  listened  to  this  explanation  Dorothy  in 
quired  : 

"Where  is  the  soft-shell  crab?" 

"Not  far  away,"  replied  the  zebra.  "If  you  will  agree 
to  judge  between  us  I  will  run  and  get  him." 

"Run  along,  then,"  said  the  little  girl. 

So  the  animal  pranced  into  the  forest  and  soon  came  trot 
ting  back  to  them.  When  he  drew  near  they  found  a  soft- 
shell  crab  clinging  fast  to  the  stiff  hair  of  the  zebra's  head, 
where  it  held  on  by  one  claw. 

"Now  then,  Mr.  Crab,"  said  the  zebra,  "here  are  the  peo- 

159 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

pie  I  told  you  about;  and  they  know  more  than  you  do,  who 
live  in  a  pool,  and  more  than  I  do,  who  live  in  a  forest.  For 
they  have  been  travelers  all  over  the  world,  and  know  every 
part  of  it." 

'There  's  more  of  the  world  than  Oz,"  declared  the  crab, 
in  a  stubborn  voice. 

'That  is  true,"  said  Dorothy;  "but  I  used  to  live  in  Kan 
sas,  in  the  United  States,  and  I  've  been  to  California  and  to 
Australia — and  so  has  Uncle  Henry." 

'Tor  my  part,"  added  the  Shaggy  Man,  "I  've  been  to 
Mexico  and  Boston  and  many  other  foreign  countries." 

"And  I,"  said  the  Wizard,  "have  been  to  Europe  and  Ire 
land." 

"So  you  see,"  continued  the  zebra,  addressing  the  crab, 
"here  are  people  of  real  consequence,  who  know  what  they 
are  talking  about." 

"Then  they  know  there  's  more  water  in  the  world  than 
there  is  land,"  asserted  the  crab,  in  a  shrill,  petulant  voice. 

"They  know  you  are  wrong  to  make  such  an  absurd  state 
ment,  and  they  will  probably  think  you  are  a  lobster  instead 
of  a  crab,"  retorted  the  animal. 

At  this  taunt  the  crab  reached  out  its  other  claw  and 
seized  the  zebra's  ear,  and  the  creature  gave  a  cry  of  pain  and 
began  prancing  up  and  down,  trying  to  shake  off  the  crab, 
which  clung  fast. 

160 


Chapter  Fifteen 


"Stop  pinching!"  cried  the  zebra.  "You  promised  not 
to  pinch  if  I  would  carry  you  here !" 

"And  you  promised  to  treat  me  respecttully,"  said  the 
crab,  letting  go  the  ear. 

"Well,  have  n't  IT  demanded  the  zebra. 
"No;  you  called  me  a  lobster,"  said  the  crab. 

"Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  continued  the  zebra,  "please 
pardon  my  poor  friend,  because  he  is  ignorant  and  stupid, 
and  does  not  understand.  Also  the  pinch  of  his  claw  is  very 
annoying.  So  pray  tell  him  that  the  world  contains  more 
land  than  water,  and  when  he  has  heard  your  judgment  I 
will  carry  him  back  and  dump  him  into  his  pool,  where  I  hope 
he  will  be  more  modest  in  the  future." 

"But  we  cannot  tell  him  that,"  said  Dorothy,  gravely, 
"because  it  would  not  be  true." 

"What!"  exclaimed  the  zebra,  in  astonishment;  "do  I 
hear  you  aright?" 

"The  soft-shell  crab  is  correct,"  declared  the  Wizard. 
"There  is  considerably  more  water  than  there  is  land  in  the 
world." 

"Impossible!"  protested  the  zebra.  "Why,  I  can  run  for 
days  upon  the  land,  and  find  but  little  water." 

"Did  you  ever  see  an  ocean?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"Never,"  admitted  the  zebra.  "There  is  no  such  thing  as 
an  ocean  in  the  Land  of  Oz." 

161 


The  Emerald   City  of  Oz 

4 'Well,  there  are  several  oceans  in  the  world,"  said  Dor 
othy,  "and  people  sail  in  ships  upon  these  oceans  for  weeks 
and  weeks,  and  never  see  a  bit  of  land  at  all.  And  the  jog- 
gerfys  will  tell  you  that  all  the  oceans  put  together  are  big 
ger  than  all  the  land  put  together." 

At  this  the  crab  began  laughing  in  queer  chuckles  that  re 
minded  Dorothy  of  the  way  Billina  sometimes  cackled. 

"Now  will  you  give  up,  Mr.  Zebra?"  it  cried,  jeeringly; 
"now  will  you  give  up?" 

The  zebra  seemed  much  humbled. 

"Of  course  I  cannot  read  geographys,"  he  said. 
"You  could  take  one  of  the  Wizard's  School  Pills,"  sug 
gested  Billina,"  and  that  would  make  you  learned  and  wise 
without  studying." 

The  crab  began  laughing  again,  which  so  provoked  the 
zebra  that  he  tried  to  shake  the  little  creature  off.  This  re 
sulted  in  more  ear-pinching,  and  finally  Dorothy  told  them 
that  if  they  could  not  behave  they  must  go  back  to  the  forest. 

"I'm  sorry  I  asked  you  to  decide  this  question,"  said  the 
zebra,  crossly.  "So  long  as  neither  of  us  could  prove  we  were 
right  we  quite  enjoyed  the  dispute;  but  now  I  can  never 
drink  at  that  pool  again  without  the  soft-shell  crab  laughing 
at  me.  So  I  must  find  another  drinking  place." 

"Do!  Do,  you  ignoramus!"  shouted  the  crab,  as  loudly 

162 


Chapter  Fifteen 


as  his  little  voice  would  carry.     "Rile  some  other  pool  with 
your  clumsy  hoofs,  and  let  your  betters  alone  after  this!" 

Then  the  zebra  trotted  back  to  the  forest,  bearing  the 
crab  with  him,  and  disappeared  amid  the  gloom  of  the  trees. 
And  as  it  was  now  getting  dark  the  travelers  said  good  night 
to  one  another  and  went  to  bed. 


Dorothy  awoke  just  as  the  light  was  beginning  to  get 
strong  next  morning,  and  not  caring  to  sleep  any  later  she 
quietly  got  out  of  bed,  dressed  herself,  and  left  the  tent  where 
Aunt  Em  was  yet  peacefully  slumbering. 

Outside  she  noticed  Billina  busily  pecking  around  to  se 
cure  bugs  or  other  food  for  breakfast,  but  none  of  the  men  in 

163 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

the  other  tent  seemed  awake.  So  the  little  girl  decided  to 
take  a  walk  in  the  woods  and  try  to  discover  some  path  or 
road  that  they  might  follow  when  they  again  started  upon 
their  journey. 

She  had  reached  the  edge  of  the  forest  when  the  Yellow 
Hen  came  fluttering  along  and  asked  where  she  was  going. 

"Just  to  take  a  walk,  Billina;  and  maybe  I'll  find  some 
path,"  said  Dorothy. 

"Then  I  '11  go  along,"  decided  Billina,  and  scarcely  had 
she  spoken  when  Toto  ran  up  and  joined  them. 

Toto  and  the  Yellow  Hen  had  become  quite  friendly  by 
this  time,  although  at  first  they  did  not  get  along  well  to 
gether.  Billina  had  been  rather  suspicious  of  dogs,  and 
Toto  had  had  an  idea  that  it  was  every  dog's  duty  to  chase 
a  hen  on  sight.  But  Dorothy  had  talked  to  them  and  scolded 
them  for  not  being  agreeable  to  one  another  until  they  grew 
better  acquainted  and  became  friends. 

I  won't  say  they  loved  each  other  dearly,  but  at  least 
they  had  stopped  quarreling  and  now  managed  to  get  on 
together  very  well. 

The  day  was  growing  lighter  every  minute  and  driving 
the  black  shadows  out  of  the  forest;  so  Dorothy  found  it 
very  pleasant  walking  under  the  trees.  She  went  some  dis 
tance  in  one  direction,  but  not  finding  a  path,  presently 
turned  in  a  different  direction.  There  was  no  path  here, 

164 


Chapter  Fifteen 


either,  although  she  advanced  quite  a  way  into  the  forest, 
winding  here  and  there  among  the  trees  and  peering  through 
the  bushes  in  an  endeavor  to  find  some  beaten  track. 

"I -think  we'd  better  go  back,"  suggested  the  Yellow 
Hen,  after  a  time.  "The  people  will  all  be  up  by  this  time 
and  breakfast  will  be  ready." 

"Very  well,"  agreed  Dorothy.  "Let  's  see — the  camp 
must  be  over  this  way." 

She  had  probably  made  a  mistake  about  that,  for  after 
they  had  gone  far  enough  to  have  reached  the  camp  they 
still  found  themselves  in  the  thick  of  the  woods.  So  the 
little  girl  stopped  short  and  looked  around  her,  and  Toto 
glanced  up  into  her  face  with  his  bright  little  eyes  and 
wagged  his  tail  as  if  he  knew  something  was  wrong.  He 
could  n't  tell  much  about  direction  himself,  because  he  had 
spent  his  time  prowling  among  the  bushes  and  running  here 
and  there;  nor  had  Billina  paid  much  attention  to  where 
they  were  going,  being  interested  in  picking  bugs  from  the 
moss  as  they  passed  along.  The  Yellow  Hen  now  turned 
one  eye  up  toward  the  little  girl  and  asked: 

"Have  you  forgotten  where  the  camp  is,  Dorothy?" 

"Yes,"  she  admitted;  "have  you,  Billina?" 

"I  did  n't  try  to  remember,"  returned  Billina.  "I  'd  no 
idea  you  would  get  lost,  Dorothy." 

"It 's  the  thing  we  don't  expect,  Billina,  that  usually  hap- 

165 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

pens,55  observed  the  girl,  thoughtfully.  "But  it  's  no  use 
standing  here.  Let  's  go  in  that  direction,55  pointing  a  fin 
ger  at  random.  "It  may  be  we  511  get  out  of  the  forest  over 
there.55 

So  on  they  went  again,  but  this  way  the  trees  were  closer 
together,  and  the  vines  were  so  tangled  that  often  they 
tripped  Dorothy  up. 

Suddenly  a  voice  cried  sharply: 

"Halt!" 

At  first  Dorothy  could  see  nothing,  although  she  looked 
around  very  carefully.  But  Billina  exclaimed : 

"Well,  I  declare!55 

"What  is  it?55  asked  the  little  girl:  for  Toto  began  bark 
ing  at  something,  and  following  his  gaze  she  discovered 
what  it  was. 

A  row  of  spoons  had  surrounded  the  three,  and  these 
spoons  stood  straight  up  on  their  handles  and  carried  swords 
and  muskets.  Their  faces  were  outlined  in  the  polished 
bowls  and  they  looked  very  stern  and  severe. 

Dorothy  laughed  at  the  queer  things. 

"Who  are  you?55  she  asked. 

"We  're  the  Spoon  Brigade,55  said  one. 

"In  the  service  of  his  Majesty  King  Kleaver,55  said 
another. 

"And  you  are  our  prisoners,55  said  a  third. 

166 


Chapter  Fifteen 


Dorothy  sat  down  on  an  old  stump  and  looked  at  them, 
her  eyes  twinkling  with  amusement. 

"What  would  happen,"  she  inquired,  "if  I  should  set 
my  dog  on  your  Brigade*?" 

"He  would  die,"  replied  one  of  the  spoons,  sharply. 
"One  shot  from  our  deadly  muskets  would  kill  him,  big  as 
he  is." 

"Don't  risk  it,  Dorothy,"  advised  the  Yellow  Hen. 
"Remember  this  is  a  fairy  country,  yet  none  of  us  three  hap 
pens  to  be  a  fairy." 

Dorothy  grew  sober  at  this. 

"P'raps  you  're  right,  Billina,"  she  answered.  "But  how 
funny  it  is,  to  be  captured  by  a  lot  of  spoons!" 

"I  do  not  see  anything  very  funny  about  it,"  declared 
a  spoon.  "We  're  the  regular  military  brigade  of  the 
kingdom." 

"What  kingdom?"  she  asked. 

"Utensia,"  said  he. 

"I  never  heard  of  it  before,"  asserted  Dorothy.  Then 
she  added,  thoughtfully,  "I  don't  believe  Ozma  ever  heard 
of  Utensia,  either.  Tell  me,  are  you  not  subjects  of  Ozma 
of  Oz?" 

"We  never  have  heard  of  her,"  retorted  a  spoon.  "We 
are  subjects  of  King  Kleaver,  and  obey  only  his  orders, 
which  are  to  bring  all  prisoners  to  him  as  soon  as  they  are 

167 


The   Emerald   City  of   Oz 

captured.  So  step  lively,  my  girl,  and  march  with  us,  or  we 
may  be  tempted  to  cut  off  a  few  of  your  toes  with  our 
swords." 

This  threat  made  Dorothy  laugh  again.  She  did  not  be 
lieve  she  was  in  any  danger;  but  here  was  a  new  and  inter 
esting  adventure,  so  she  was  willing  to  be  taken  to  Utensia 
that  she  might  see  what  King  Kleaver's  kingdom  was  like. 


168 


THERE  must  have  been  from  six  to  eight  dozen  spoons 
in  the  Brigade,  and  they  marched  away  in  the  shape  of  a 
hollow  square,  with  Dorothy,  Billina  and  Toto  in  the  center 
of  the  square.  Before  they  had  gone  very  far  Toto  knocked 
over  one  of  the  spoons  by  wagging  his  tail,  and  then  the 
Captain  of  the  Spoons  told  the  little  dog  to  be  more  careful, 
or  he  would  be  punished.  So  Toto  was  careful,  and  the 
Spoon  Brigade  moved  along  with  astonishing  swiftness, 
while  Dorothy  really  had  to  walk  fast  to  keep  up  with  it. 

By  and  by  they  left  the  woods  and  entered  a  big  clear 
ing,  in  which  was  the  Kingdom  of  Utensia. 

Standing  all  around  the  clearing  were  a  good  many  cook- 
stoves,  ranges  and  grills,  of  all  sizes  and  shapes,  and  besides 
these  there  were  several  kitchen  cabinets  and  cupboards  and 
a  few  kitchen  tables.  These  things  were  crowded  with  uten- 

169 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

sils  of  all  sorts:  frying  pans,  sauce  pans,  kettles,  forks, 
knives,  basting  and  soup  spoons,  nutmeg  graters,  sifters,  col- 
enders,  meat  saws,  flat  irons,  rolling  pins  and  many  other 
things  of  a  like  nature. 

When  the  Spoon  Brigade  appeared  with  the  prisoners  a 
wild  shout  arose  and  many  of  the  utensils  hopped  off  their 
stoves  or  their  benches  and  ran  crowding  around  Dorothy  and 
the  hen  and  the  dog. 

"Stand  back!"  cried  the  Captain,  sternly,  and  he  led  his 
captives  through  the  curious  throng  until  they  came  before 
a  big  range  that  stood  in  the  center  of  the  clearing.  Beside 
this  range  was  a  butcher's  block  upon  which  lay  a  great 
cleaver  with  a  keen  edge.  It  rested  upon  the  flat  of  its  back, 
its  legs  were  crossed  and  it  was  smoking  a  long  pipe. 

"Wake  up,  your  Majesty,"  said  the  Captain.  "Here  are 
prisoners." 

Hearing  this,  King  Kleaver  sat  up  and  looked  at  Dor 
othy  sharply. 

"Gristle  and  fat!"  he  cried.  "Where  did  this  girl  come 
from?" 

"I  found  her  in  the  forest  and  brought  her  here  a  pris 
oner,"  replied  the  Captain. 

"Why  did  you  do  that?"  inquired  the  King,  puffing  his 
pipe  lazily. 

uTo  create  some  excitement,"  the  Captain  answered. 

170 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"It  is  so  quiet  here  that  we  are  all  getting  rusty  for  want  of 
amusement.  For  my  part,  I  prefer  to  see  stirring  times." 

"Naturally,"  returned  the  cleaver,  with  a  nod.  "I  have 
always  said,  Captain,  without  a  bit  of  irony,  that  you  are  a 
sterling  officer  and  a  solid  citizen,  bowled  and  polished  to  a 
degree.  But  what  do  you  expect  me  to  do  with  these 
prisoners'?" 

"That  is  for  you  to  decide,"  declared  the  Captain.  "You 
are  the  King." 

"To  be  sure;  to  be  sure,"  muttered  the  cleaver,  musingly. 
"As  you  say,  we  have  had  dull  times  since  the  steel  and 
grindstone  eloped  and  left  us.  Command  my  Counselors 
and  the  Royal  Courtiers  to  attend  me,  as  well  as  the  High 
Priest  and  the  Judge.  We  '11  then  decide  what  can  be  done." 

The  Captain  saluted  and  retired  and  Dorothy  sat  down 
on  an  overturned  kettle  and  asked : 

"Have  you  anything  to  eat  in  your  kingdom?" 

"Here!  Get  up!  Get  off  from  me!"  cried  a  faint  voice, 
at  which  his  Majesty  the  cleaver  said: 

"Excuse  me,  but  you  're  sitting  on  my  friend  the  Ten- 
quart  Kettle." 

Dorothy  at  once  arose,  and  the  kettle  turned  right  side 
up  and  looked  at  her  reproachfully. 

"I  'm  a  friend  of  the  King,  so  no  one  dares  sit  on  me," 
said  he. 

172 


Chap  ter  Sixteen 


"I  'd  prefer  a  chair,  anyway,"  she  replied. 

"Sit  on  that  hearth,"  commanded  the  King. 

So  Dorothy  sat  on  the  hearth-shelf  of  the  big  range,  and 
the  subjects  of  Utensia  began  to  gather  around  in  a  large 
and  inquisitive  throng.  Toto  lay  at  Dorothy's  feet  and  Bil- 
lina  flew  upon  the  range,  which  had  no  fire  in  it,  and  perched 
there  as  comfortably  as  she  could. 

When  all  the  Counselors  and  Courtiers  had  assembled — 
and  these  seemed  to  include  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
kingdom — the  King  rapped  on  the  block  for  order  and  said  : 

"Friends  and  Fellow  Utensils!  Our  worthy  Commander 
of  the  Spoon  Brigade,  Captain  Dipp,  has  captured  the  three 
prisoners  you  see  before  you  and  brought  them  here  for — 
for — I  don't  know  what  for.  So  I  ask  your  advice  how  to 
act  in  this  matter,  and  what  fate  I  should  mete  out  to  these 
captives.  Judge  Sifter,  stand  on  my  right.  It  is  your  busi 
ness  to  sift  this  affair  to  the  bottom.  High  Priest  Colender, 
stand  on  my  left  and  see  that  no  one  testifies  falsely  in  this 


matter." 


As  these  two  officials  took  their  places  Dorothy  asked: 

"Why  is  the  colender  the  High  Priest?" 

"He  .'s  the  holiest  thing  we  have  in  the  kindgom,"  re 
plied  King  Kleaver. 

"Except  me,"  said  a  sieve.  "I  'm  the  whole  thing  when 
it  comes  to  holes0" 

173 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"What  we  need,"  remarked  the  King,  rebukingly,  "is  a 
wireless  sieve.  I  must  speak  to  Marconi  about  it.  These 
old  fashioned  sieves  talk  too  much.  Now,  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  King's  Counselors  to  counsel  the  King  at  all  times  of 
emergency,  so  I  beg  you  to  speak  out  and  advise  me  what 
to  do  with  these  prisoners." 

"I  demand  that  they  be  killed  several  times,  until  they 
are  dead!"  shouted  a  pepperbox,  hopping  around  very  ex 
citedly. 

"Compose  yourself,  Mr.  Paprica,"  advised  the  King. 
"Your  remarks  are  piquant  and  highly-seasoned,  but  you 
need  a  scattering  of  commonsense.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
kill  a  person  once  to  make  him  dead;  but  I  do  not  see  that 
it  is  necessary  to  kill  this  little  girl  at  all." 

"I  don't,  either,"  said  Dorothy. 

"Pardon  me,  but  you  are  not  expected  to  advise  me  in 
this  matter,"  replied  King  Kleaver. 

"Why  not?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"You  might  be  prejudiced  in  your  own  favor,  and  so 
mislead  us,"  he  said.    "Now  then,  good  subjects,  who  speal 
next?" 

"I  'd  like  to  smooth  this  thing  over,  in  some  way,"  sai< 
a  flatiron,  earnestly.      "We  are  supposed  to  be  useful  to 
mankind,  you  know." 

174 


Chapter  Sixteen 


"But  the  girl  is  n't  mankind!  She  's  womankind!" 
yelled  a  corkscrew. 

"What  do  you  know  about  it?"  inquired  the  King. 

"I  'm  a  lawyer,"  said  the  corkscrew,  proudly.  "I  am  ac 
customed  to  appear  at  the  bar." 

"But  you  're  crooked,"  retorted  the  King,  "and  that  de 
bars  you.  You  may  be  a  corking  good  lawyer,  Mr.  Popp, 
but  I  must  ask  you  to  withdraw  your  remarks." 

"Very  well,"  said  the  corkscrew,  sadly;  "I  see  I  have  n't 
any  pull  at  this  court." 

"Permit  me,"  continued  the  flatiron,  "to  press  my  suit, 
your  Majesty.  I  do  not  wish  to  gloss  over  any  fault  the 
prisoner  may  have  committed,  if  such  a  fault  exists ;  but  we 
owe  her  some  consideration,  and  that 's  flat!" 

"I  'd  like  to  hear  from  Prince  Karver,"  said  the  King. 

At  this  a  stately  carvingknife  stepped  forward  and 
bowed. 

"The  Captain  was  wrong  to  bring  this  girl  here,  and  she 
was  wrong  to  come,"  he  said.  "But  now  that  the  foolish 
deed  is  done  let  us  all  prove  our  mettle  and  have  a  slashing 
good  time." 

"That  's  it!  that  's  it!"  screamed  a  fat  choppingknife. 
"We  '11  make  mincemeat  of  the  girl  and  hash  of  the  chicken 
and  sausage  of  the  dog!" 


The   Emerald  City  of  Oz 

There  was  a  shout  of  approval  at  this  and  the  King  had 
to  rap  again  for  order. 

"Gentlemen,  gentlemen!"  he  said,  "your  remarks  are 
somewhat  cutting  and  rather  disjointed,  as  might  be  ex 
pected  from  such  acute  intellects.  But  you  give  no  reasons 
for  your  demands." 

"See  here,  Kleaver;  you  make  me  tired,"  exclaimed  a 
saucepan,  strutting  before  the  King  very  impudently. 
"You  're  about  the  worst  King  that  ever  reigned  in  Utensia, 
and  that  Js  saying  a  good  deal.  Why  don't  you  run  things 
yourself,  instead  of  asking  everybody's  advice,  like  the  big, 
clumsy  idiot  you  are?" 

The  King  sighed. 

"I  wish  there  was  n't  a  saucepan  in  my  kingdom,"  he 
said.  "You  fellows  are  always  stewing,  over  something,  and 
every  once  in  a  while  you  slop  over  and  make  a  mess  of  it. 
Go  hang  yourself,  sir — by  the  handle — and  don't  let  me 
hear  from  you  again." 

Dorothy  was  much  shocked  by  the  dreadful  language 
the  untesils  employed,  and  she  thought  that  they  must  have 
had  very  little  proper  training.  So  she  said,  addressing  the 
King,  who  seemed  very  unfit  to  rule  his  turbulent  subjects: 

"I  wish  you  'd  decide  my  fate  right  away.  I  can't  stay 
here  all  day,  trying  to  find  out  what  you  're  going  to  do  with 


me.'3 


176 


Chapter  Sixteen 


"This  thing  is  becoming  a  regular  broil,  and  it  's  time  I 
took  part  in  it,"  observed  a  big  gridiron,  coming  forward. 

"What  I  'd  like  to  know,"  said  a  can-opener,  in  a  shrill 
voice,  "is  why  the  girl  came  to  our  forest,  anyhow,  and  why 
she  intruded  upon  Captain  Dipp — who  ought  to  be  called 
Dippy — and  who  she  is,  and  where  she  came  from,  and  where 
she  is  going,  and  why  and  wherefore  and  therefore  and 
when." 

"I  'm  sorry  to  see,  Sir  Jabber,"  remarked  the  King  to  the 
can-opener,  "that  you  have  such  a  prying  disposition.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  all  the  things  you  mention  are  none  of  our 
business." 

Having  said  this  the  King  relighted  his  pipe,  which  had 
gone  out. 

"Tell  me,  please,  what  is  our  business?"  inquired  a  po 
tato-masher,  winking  at  Dorothy  somewhat  impertinently. 
"I  'm  fond  of  little  girls,  myself,  and  it  seems  to  me  she  has 
as  much  right  to  wander  in  the  forest  as  we  have." 

"Who  accuses  the  little  girl,  anyway?"  inquired  a  roll 
ing-pin.  "What  has  she  done?" 

"I  don't  know,"  said  the  King.  "What  has  she  done, 
Captain  Dipp?" 

"That  's  the  trouble,  your  Majesty.  She  has  n't  done 
anything,"  replied  the  Captain. 

"What  do  you  want  me  to  do?"  asked  Dorothy. 

177 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

This  question  seemed  to  puzzle  them  all.  Finally  a 
chafingdish,  exclaimed,  irritably: 

"If  no  one  can  throw  any  light  on  this  subject  you  must 
excuse  me  if  I  go  out." 

At  this  a  big  kitchen  fork  pricked  up  its  ears  and  said  in  a 
tiny  voice : 

"Let 's  hear  from  Judge  Sifter." 

"That  5s  proper,"  returned  the  King. 

So  Judge  Sifter  turned  around  slowly  several  times  and 
then  said: 

"We  have  nothing  against  the  girl  except  the  stove- 
hearth  upon  which  she  sits.  Therefore  I  order  her  instantly 
discharged." 

"Discharged!"  cried  Dorothy.  "Why,  I  never  was  dis 
charged  in  my  life,  and  I  don't  intend  to  be.  If  its  all  the 
same  to  you,  I  '11  resign." 

"It  's  all  the  same,"  declared  the  King.  "You  are  free 
— you  and  your  companions — and  may  go  wherever  you 
like." 

'Thank  you,"  said  the  little  girl.  "But  have  n't  you 
anything  to  eat  in  your  kingdom?  I  'm  hungry." 

"Go  into  the  woods  and  pick  blackberries,"  advised  the 
King,  lying  down  upon  his  back  again  and  preparing  to  go 
to  sleep.  'There  is  n't  a  morsel  to  eat  in  all  Utensia,  that 
I  know  of." 

178 


Chapter  Sixteen 


So  Dorothy  jumped  up  and  said: 

"Come  on,  Toto  and  Billina.  If  we  can't  find  the  camp 
we  may  find  some  blackberries." 

The  untensils  drew  back  and  allowed  them  to  pass  with 
out  protest,  although  Captain  Dipp  marched  the  Spoon  Bri 
gade  in  close  order  after  them  until  they  had  reached  the 
edge  of  the  clearing. 

There  the  spoons  halted;  but  Dorothy  and  her  compan 
ions  entered  the  .forest  again  and  began  searching  diligently 
for  a  way  back  to  the  camp,  that  they  might  rejoin  their 
party. 


179 


<r\  :y4%^r 
&&    '^ 

Q?&  'r^ 

?>fv- 

**"x ^^ 


WANDERING  through  the  woods,  without  knowing  where 
you  are  going  or  what  adventure  you  are  about  to  meet  next, 
is  not  as  pleasant  as  one  might  think.  The  woods  are  always 
beautiful  and  impressive,  and  if  you  are  not  worried  or  hun 
gry  you  may  enjoy  them  immensely;  but  Dorothy  was  wor 
ried  and  hungry  that  morning,  so  she  paid  little  attention  to 
the  beauties  of  the  forest,  and  hurried  along  as  fast  as  she 
could  go.  She  tried  to  keep  in  one  direction  and  not  circle 
around,  but  she  was  not  at  all  sure  that  the  direction  she  had 
chosen  would  lead  her  to  the  camp. 

By  and  by,  to  her  great  joy,  she  came  upon  a  path.  It 
ran  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  being  lost  in  the  trees  in  both 
directions,  and  just  before  her,  upon  a  big  oak,  were  fastened 
two  signs,  with  arms  pointing  both  ways.  One  sign  read : 

180 


Chapter  Seventeen 

TAKE  THE  OTHER  ROAD  TO  BUNBURY 
and  the  second  sign  read: 

TAKE  THE  OTHER  ROAD  TO  BUNNYBURY 


"Well!"  exclaimed  Billina,  eyeing  the  signs,  "this  looks 
as  if  we  were  getting  back  to  civilization  again." 

"I  'm  not  sure  about  the  civil'zation,  dear,"  replied  the 
little  girl;  "but  it  looks  as  if  we  might  get  somewhere^  and 
that  's  a  big  relief,  anyhow." 

"Which  path  shall  we  take?"  inquired  the  Yellow  Hen. 

Dorothy  stared  at  the  signs  thoughtfully. 

"Bunbury  sounds  like  something  to  eat,"  she  said.  "Let 's 
go  there." 

"It 's  all  the  same  to  me,"  replied  Billina.  She  had 
picked  up  enough  bugs  and  insects  from  the  moss  as  she  went 
along  to  satisfy  her  own  hunger,  but  the  hen  knew  Dorothy 
could  not  eat  bugs ;  nor  could  Toto. 

The  path  to  Bunbury  seemed  little  traveled,  but  it  was 
distinct  enough  and  ran  through  the  trees  in  a  zigzag  course 
until  it  finally  led  them  to  an  open  space  filled  with  the 
queerest  houses  Dorothy  had  ever  seen.  They  were  all  made 
of  crackers,  laid  out  in  tiny  squares,  and  were  of  many  pretty 
and  ornamental  shapes,  having  balconies  and  porches  with 
posts  of  bread-sticks  and  roofs  shingled  with  wafer-crackers. 

There  were  walks  of  bread-crusts  leading  from  house  to 

181 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

house  and  forming  streets,  and  the  place  seemed  to  have 
many  inhabitants. 

When  Dorothy,  followed  by  Billina  and  Toto,  entered 
the  place,  they  found  people  walking  the  streets  or  assem 
bled  in  groups  talking  together,  or  sitting  upon  the  porches 
and  balconies. 

And  what  funny  people  they  were ! 

Men,  women  and  children  were  all  made  of  buns  and 
bread.  Some  were  thin  and  others  fat;  some  were  white, 
some  light  brown  and  some  very  dark  of  complexion.  A  few 
of  the  buns,  which  seemed  to  form  the  more  important  class 
of  the  people,  were  neatly  frosted.  Some  had  raisins  for 
eyes  and  currant  buttons  on  their  clothes;  others  had  eyes 
of  cloves  and  legs  of  stick  cinnamon,  and  many  wore  hats 
and  bonnets  frosted  pink  and  green. 

There  was  something  of  a  commotion  in  Bunbury  when 
the  strangers  suddenly  appeared  among  them.  Women 
caught  up  their  children  and  hurried  into  their  houses,  shut 
ting  the  cracker  doors  carefully  behind  them.  Some  men 
ran  so  hastily  that  they  tumbled  over  one  another,  while 
others,  more  brave,  assembled  in  a  group  and  faced  the  in 
truders  defiantly. 

Dorothy  at  once  realized  that  she  must  act  with  caution  in 
order  not  to  frighten  these  shy  people,  who  were  evidently 
unused  to  the  presence  of  strangers.  There  was  a  delightful 

182 


Chapter  Seventeen 

fragrant  odor  of  fresh  bread  in  the  town,  and  this  made  the 
little  girl  more  hungry  than  ever.  She  told  Toto  and  Billina 
to  stay  back  while  she  slowly  advanced  toward  the  group 
that  stood  silently  awaiting  her. 

"You  must  'scuse  me  for  coming  unexpected,"  she  said, 
softly,  "but  I  really  did  n't  know  I  was  coming  here  until 
I  arrived.  I  was  lost  in  the  woods,  you  know,  and  I  'm  as 
hungry  as  anything." 

"Hungry!"  they  murmured,  in  a  horrified  chorus. 

"Yes;  I  have  n't  had  anything  to  eat  since  last  night's 
supper,"  she  explained.  "Are  there  any  eatables  in  Bun- 
bury?" 

They  looked  at  one  another  undecidedly,  and  then  one 
portly  bun  man,  who  seemed  a  person  of  consequence, 
stepped  forward  and  said: 

"Little  girl,  to  be  frank  with  you,  we  are  all  eatables. 
Everything  in  Bunbury  is  eatable  to  ravenous  human  crea 
tures  like  you.  But  it  is  to  escape  being  eaten  and  destroyed 
that  we  have  secluded  ourselves  in  this  out-of-the-way  place, 
and  there  is  neither  right  nor  justice  in  your  coming  here  to 
feed  upon  us." 

Dorothy  looked  at  him  longingly. 

"You  're  bread,  are  n't  you?"  she  asked. 

"Yes;  bread  and  butter.  The  butter  is  inside  me,  so  it 
won't  melt  and  run.  I  do  the  running  myself." 

183 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

At  this  joke  all  the  others  burst  into  a  chorus  of  laugh 
ter,  and  Dorothy  thought  they  could  n't  be  much  afraid  if 
they  could  laugh  like  that. 

"Could  n't  I  eat  something  besides  people?'  she  asked. 
"Could  n't  I  eat  just  one  house,  or  a  side-walk,  or  something? 
I  would  n't  mind  much  what  it  was,  you  know." 

"This  is  not  a  public  bakery,  child,"  replied  the  man, 
sternly.  "It 's  private  property." 

"I  know  Mr.— Mr.— " 

"My  name  is  C.  Bunn,  Esquire,"  said  the  man.  "C 
stands  for  Cinnamon,  and  this  place  is  called  after  my  family, 
which  is  the  most  aristocratic  in  the  town." 

"Oh,  I  don't  know  about  that,"  objected  another  of  the 
queer  people.  "The  Grahams  and  the  Browns  and  Whites 
are  all  excellent  families,  and  there  are  none  better  of  their 
kind.  I  'm  a  Boston  Brown,  myself." 

"I  admit  you  are  all  desirable  citizens,"  said  Mr.  Bunn, 
rather  stiffly;  "but  the  fact  remains  that  our  town  is  called 
Bunbury." 

"  'Scuse  me,"  interrupted  Dorothy;  "but  I'm  getting  hun 
grier  every  minute.  Now,  if  you  're  polite  and  kind,  as  I  'm 
sure  you  ought  to  be,  you  '11  let  me  eat  something.  There  's 
so  much  to  eat  here  that  you  never  will  miss  it." 

Then  a  big,  puffed-up  man,  of  a  delicate  brown  color, 
stepped  forward  and  said : 

184 


Chapter  Seventeen 

"I  think  it  would  be  a  shame  to  send  this  child  away 
hungry,  especially  as  she  agrees  to  eat  whatever  we  can  spare 
and  not  touch  our  people." 

"So  do  I,  Pop,"  replied  a  Roll  who  stood  near. 

"What,  then,  do  you  suggest,  Mr.  Over?"  inquired  Mr. 
Bunn. 

"Why,  I  '11  let  her  eat  my  back  fence,  if  she  wants  to. 
It 's  made  of  waffles,  and  they  're  very  crisp  and  nice." 

"She  may  also  eat  my  wheelbarrow,"  added  a  pleasant 
looking  Muffin.  "It 's  made  of  nabiscos  with  a  zuzu  wheel." 

"Very  good;  very  good,"  remarked  Mr.  Bunn.  "That  is 
certainly  very  kind  of  you.  Go  with  Pop  Over  and  Mr. 
Muffin,  little  girl,  and  they  will  feed  you." 

"Thank  you  very  much,"  said  Dorothy,  gratefully.  "May 
I  bring  my  dog  Toto,  and  the  Yellow  Hen?  They  're  hun 
gry,  too." 

"Will  you  make  them  behave?"  asked  the  Muffin. 

"Of  course,"  promised  Dorothy. 

"Then  come  along,"  said  Pop  Over. 

So  Dorothy  and  Billina  and  Toto  walked  up  the  street 
and  the  people  seemed  no  longer  to  be  at  all  afraid  of  them. 
Mr.  Muffin's  house  came  first,  and  as  his  wheelbarrow  stood 
in  the  front  yard  the  little  girl  ate  that  first.  It  did  n't  seem 
very  fresh,  but  she  was  so  hungry  that  she  was  not  particu 
lar.  Toto  ate  some,  too,  while  Billina  picked  up  the  crumbs, 

185 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

While  the  strangers  were  engaged  in  eating,  many  of 
the  people  came  and  stood  in  the  street  curiously  watching 
them.  Dorothy  noticed  six  roguish  looking  brown  children 
standing  all  in  a  row,  and  she  asked : 

"Who  are  you,  little  ones?" 

"We  're  the  Graham  Gems,"  replied  one;  "and  we'  re  all 


twins/3 


"I  wonder  if  your  mother  could  spare  one  or  two  of  you?" 
asked  Billina,  who  decided  that  they  were  fresh  baked ;  but 
at  this  dangerous  question  the  six  little  gems  ran  away  as 
fast  as  they  could  go. 

"You  must  n't  say  such  things,  Billina,"  said  Dorothy, 
reprovingly.  "Now  let 's  go  into  Pop  Over's  back  yard  and 
get  the  waffles." 

"I  sort  of  hate  to  let  that  fence  go,"  remarked  Mr.  Over, 
nervously,  as  they  walked  toward  his  house.  "The  neigh 
bors  back  of  us  are  Soda  Biscuits,  and  I  don't  care  to  mix 
with  them." 

"But  I  'm  hungry  yet,"  declared  the  girl.  "That  wheel 
barrow  was  n't  very  big." 

"I  've  got  a  shortcake  piano,  but  none  of  my  family  can 
play  on  it,"  he  said,  reflectively.  "Suppose  you  eat  that." 

"All  right,"  said  Dorothy;  "I  don't  mind.  Anything  to 
be  accomodating." 

186 


Chapter  Seventeen 

So  Mr.  Over  led  her  into  the  house,  where  she  ate  the 
piano,  which  was  of  an  excellent  flavor. 

'Is  there  anything  to  drink  here?"  she  asked  . 

"Yes;  I  've  a  milk  pump  and  a  water  pump;  which  will 
you  have?"  he  asked. 

"I  guess  I  '11  try  'em  both,"  said  Dorothy. 

So  Mr.  Over  called  to  his  wife,  who  brought  into  the 
yard  a  pail  made  of  some  kind  of  baked  dough,  and  Dorothy 
pumped  the  pail  full  of  cool,  sweet  milk  and  drank  it  eagerly. 

The  wife  of  Pop  Over  was  several  shades  darker  than 
her  husband. 

"Are  n't  you  overdone?"  the  little  girl  asked  her. 

"No  indeed,"  answered  the  woman.  "I  'm  neither  over 
done  nor  done  over;  I  'm  just  Mrs.  Over,  and  I  'm  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  Bunbury  Breakfast  Band." 

Dorothy  thanked  them  for  their  hospitality  and  went 
away.  At  the  gate  Mr.  Cinnamon  Bunn  met  her  and  said 
he  would  show  her  around  the  town. 

"We  have  some  very  interesting  inhabitants,"  he  re 
marked,  walking  stiffly  beside  her  on  his  stick-cinnamon  legs ; 
"and  all  of  us  who  are  in  good  health  are  well  bred.  If  you 
are  no  longer  hungry  we  will  call  upon  a  few  of  the  most  im 
portant  citizens." 

Toto  and  Billina  followed  behind  them,  behaving  very 
well,  and  a  little  way  down  the  street  they  came  to  a  hand- 

187 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

some  residence  where  Aunt  Sally  Lunn  lived.  The  old  lady 
was  glad  to  meet  the  little  girl  and  gave  her  a  slice  of  white 
bread  and  butter  which  had  been  used  as  a  door-mat.  It  was 
almost  fresh  and  tasted  better  than  anything  Dorothy  had 
eaten  in  the  town. 

"Where  do  you  get  the  butter?"  she  inquired. 

"We  dig  it  out  of  the  ground,  which,  as  you  may  have  ob 
served,  is  all  flour  and  meal,"  replied  Mr.  Bunn.  ^There  is 
a  butter  mine  just  at  the  opposite  side  of  the  village.  The 
trees  whichxyou  see  here  are  all  doughleanders  and  dough- 
deras,  and  in  the  season  we  get  quite  a  crop  of  dough-nuts 
off  them." 

"I  should  think  the  flour  would  blow  around  and  get 
into  your  eyes,"  said  Dorothy. 

"No,"  said  he;  "we  are  bothered  with  cracker  dust  some 
times,  but  never  with  flour." 

Then  he  took  her  to  see  Johnny  Cake,  a  cheerful  old  gen 
tleman  who  lived  near  by. 

"I  suppose  you  've  heard  of  me,"  said  old  Johnny,  with 
an  air  of  pride.  "I  'm  a  great  favorite  all  over  the  world." 

"Are  n't  you  rather  yellow?"  asked  Dorothy,  looking  at 
him  critically. 

"Maybe,  child.  But  don't  think  I  'm  bilious,  for  I  was 
never  in  better  health  in  my  life,"  replied  the  old  gentle- 

188 


Chapter  Seventeen 

man.    "If  anything  ailed  me,  I  'd  willingly  acknowledge  the 


corn/ 


"Johnny  's  a  trifle  stale,"  said  Mr.  Bunn,  as  they  went 
away;  "but  he  's  a  good  mixer  and  never  gets  cross-grained. 
I  will  now  take  you  to  call  upon  some  of  my  own  relatives." 

They  visited  the  Sugar  Bunns,  the  Currant  Bunns  and  the 
Spanish  Bunns,  the  latter  having  a  decidedly  foreign  ap 
pearance.  Then  they  saw  the  French  Rolls,  who  were  very 
polite  to  them,  and  made  a  brief  call  upon  the  Parker  H. 
Rolls,  who  seemed  a  bit  proud  and  overbearing. 

"But  they  're  not  as  stuck  up  as  the  Frosted  Jumbles," 
declared  Mr.  Bunn,  "who  are  people  I  really  can't  abide. 
I  don't  like  to  be  suspicious  or  talk  scandal,  but  sometimes 
I  think  the  Jumbles  have  too  much  baking  powder  in  them." 

Just  then  a  dreadful  scream  was  heard,  and  Dorothy 
turned  hastily  around  to  find  a  scene  of  great  excitement  a 
little  way  down  the  street.  The  people  were  crowding 
around  Toto  and  throwing  at  him  everything  they  could  find 
at  hand.  They  pelted  the  little  dog  with  hard-tack, 
crackers,  and  even  articles  of  furniture  which  were  hard 
baked  and  heavy  enough  for  missiles. 

Toto  howled  a  little  as  the  assortment  of  bake  stuff 
struck  him;  but  he  stood  still,  with  head  bowed  and  tail  be 
tween  his  legs,  until  Dorothy  ran  up  and  inquired  what  the 
matter  was. 

189 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Matter!"  cried  a  rye  loafer,  indignantly,  "why  the  hor 
rid  beast  has  eaten  three  of  our  dear  Crumpets,  and  is  now 
devouring  a  Salt-rising  Biscuit!" 

"Oh,  Toto!  How  could  you?"  exclaimed  Dorothy, 
much  distressed. 

Toto's  mouth  was  full  of  his  salt-rising  victim;  so  he  only 
whined  and  wagged  his  tail.  But  Billina,  who  had  flown  to 
the  top  of  a  cracker  house  to  be  in  a  safe  place,  called  out: 

"Don't  blame  him,  Dorothy;  the  Crumpets  dared  him  to 
do  it." 

"Yes,  and  you  pecked  out  the  eyes  of  a  Raisin  Bunn — 
one  of  our  best  citizens!"  shouted  a  bread  pudding,  shaking 
its  fist  at  the  Yellow  Hen. 

"What  's  that!  What  's  that?"  wailed  Mr.  Cinnamon 
Bunn,  who  had  now  joined  them.  "Oh,  what  a  misfortune 
— what  a  terrible  misfortune!" 

"See  here,"  said  Dorothy,  determined  to  defend  her  pets, 
"I  think  we  've  treated  you  all  pretty  well,  seeing  you  're 
eatables,  an'  reg  'lar  food  for  us.  I  've  been  kind  to  you, 
and  eaten  your  old  wheelbarrows  and  pianos  and  rubbish, 
an'  not  said  a  word.  But  Toto  and  Billina  can't  be  'spected 
to  go  hungry  when  the  town  's  full  of  good  things  they  like 
to  eat,  'cause  they  can't  understand  your  stingy  ways  as  I 
do." 

"You  must  leave  here  at  once!"  said  Mr.  Bunn,  sternly. 

190 


Chapter  Seventeen 

"Suppose  we  won't  go?"  asked  Dorothy,  who  was  now 
much  provoked. 

"Then,"  said  he,  "we  will  put  you  into  the  great  ovens 
where  we  are  made,  and  bake  you." 

Dorothy  gazed  around  and  saw  threatening  looks  upon 
the  faces  of  all.  She  had  not  noticed  any  ovens  in  the  town, 
but  they  might  be  there,  nevertheless,  for  some  of  the  in 
habitants  seemed  very  fresh.  So  she  decided  to  go,  and  call 
ing  to  Toto  and  Billina  to  follow  her  she  marched  up  the 
street  with  as  much  dignity  as  possible,  considering  that  she 
was  followed  by  the  hoots  and  cries  of  the  buns  and  biscuits 
and  other  bake  stuff. 


191 


PRINCESS  Ozma  was  a  very  busy  little  ruler,  for  she 
looked  carefully  after  the  comfort  and  welfare  of  her  peo 
ple  and  tried  to  make  them  happy.  If  any  quarrels  arose 
she  decided  them  justly;  if  any  one  needed  counsel  or  advice 
she  was  ready  and  willing  to  listen  to  them. 

For  a  day  or  two  after  Dorothy  and  her  companions  had 
started  on  their  trip,  Ozma  was  occupied  with  the  affairs  of 
her  kingdom.  Then  she  began  to  think  of  some:  manner  of 
occupation  for  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  that  would  be 
light  and  easy  and  yet  give  the  old  people  something  to  do. 

She  soon  decided  to  make  Uncle  Henry  the  Keeper  of  the 
Jewels,  for  some  one  really  was  needed  to  count  and  look 
after  the  bins  and  barrels  of  emeralds,  diamonds,  rubies  and 
other  precious  stones  that  were  in  the  Royal  Storehouses. 
That  would  keep  Uncle  Henry  busy  enough,  but  it  was 

192 


Chapter  Eighteen 


harder  to  find  something  for  Aunt  Em  to  do.  The  palace 
was  full  of  servants,  so  there  was  no  detail  of  housework 
that  Aunt  Em  could  look  after. 

While  Ozma  sat  in  her  pretty  room  engaged  in  thought 
she  happened  to  glance  at  her  Magic  Picture. 

This  was  one  of  the  most  important  treasures  in  all  the 
Land  of  Oz.  It  was  a  large  picture,  set  in  a  beautiful  gold 
frame,  and  it  hung  in  a  prominent  place  upon  a  wall  of 
Ozma's  private  room. 

Usually  this  picture  seemed  merely  a  country  scene,  but 
whenever  Ozma  looked  at  it  and  wished  to  know  what  any 
of  her  friends  or  acquaintances  were  doing,  the  magic  of  this 
wonderful  picture  was  straightway  disclosed.  For  the 
country  scene  would  gradually  fade  away  and  in  its  place 
would  appear  the  likeness  of  the  person  or  persons  Ozma 
might  wish  to  see,  surrounded  by  the  actual  scenes  in  which 
they  were  then  placed.  In  this  way  the  Princess  could  view 
any  part  of  the  world  she  wished,  and  watch  the  actions  of 
any  one  in  whom  she  was  interested. 

Ozma  had  often  seen  Dorothy  in  her  Kansas  home  by 
this  means,  and  now,  having  a  little  leisure,  she  expressed  a 
desire  to  see  her  little  friend  again.  It  was  while  the  trav 
elers  were  at  Fuddlecumjig,  and  Ozma  laughed  merrily  as 
she  watched  in  the  picture  her  friends  trying  to  match  the 
pieces  of  Grandmother  Gnit. 

193 


The  Emerald   City  of  Oz 

"They  seem  happy  and  are  doubtless  having  a  good 
time,"  the  girl  Ruler  said  to  herself;  and  then  she  began  to 
think  of  the  many  adventures  she  herself  had  encountered 
with  Dorothy. 

The  images  of  her  friends  now  faded  from  the  Magic 
Picture  and  the  old  landscape  slowly  reappeared. 

Ozma  was  thinking  of  the  time  when  with  Dorothy  and 
her  army  she  marched  to  the  Nome  King's  underground  cav 
ern,  beyond  the  Land  of  Ev,  and  forced  the  old  monarch  to 
liberate  his  captives,  who  belonged  to  the  Royal  Family  of 
Ev.  That  was  the  time  when  the  Scarecrow  nearly  frightened 
the  Nome  King  into  fits  by  throwing  one  of  Billina's  eggs  at 
him,  and  Dorothy  had  captured  King  Roquat's  Magic  Belt 
and  brought  it  away  with  her  to  the  Land  of  Oz. 

The  pretty  Princess  smiled  at  the  recollection  of  this  ad 
venture,  and  then  she  wondered  what  had  become  of  the 
Nome  King  since  then.  Merely  because  she  was  curious  and 
had  nothing  better  to  do,  Ozma  glanced  at  the  Magic  Pic 
ture  and  wished  to  see  in  it  the  King  of  the  Nomes. 

Roquat  the  Red  went  every  day  into  his  tunnel  to  see 
how  the  work  was  getting  along  and  to  hurry  his  workmen 
as  much  as  possible.  He  was  there  now,  and  Ozma  saw  him 
plainly  in  the  Magic  Picture. 

She  saw  the  underground  tunnel,  reaching  far  under 
neath  the  Deadly  Desert  which  separated  the  Land  of  Oz  from 

194 


Chapter  Eighteen 

the  mountains  beneath  which  the  Nome  King  had  his  ex 
tensive  caverns.  She  saw  that  the  tunnel  was  being  made 
in  the  direction  of  the  Emerald  City,  and  knew  at  once  it 
was  being  dug  so  that  the  army  of  Nomes  could  march 
through  it  and  attack  her  own  beautiful  and  peaceful  coun 
try. 

"I  suppose  King  Roquat  is  planning  revenge  against  us," 
she  said,  musingly,  "and  thinks  he  can  surprise  us  and  make 
us  his  captives  and  slaves.  How  sad  it  is  that  any  one  can 
have  such  wicked  thoughts !  But  I  must  not  blame  King  Ro 
quat  too  severely,  for  he  is  a  Nome,  and  his  nature  is  not 
so  gentle  as  my  own." 

Then  she  dismissed  from  her  mind  further  thought  of  the 
tunnel,  for  that  time,  and  began  to  wonder  if  Aunt  Em 
would  not  be  happy  as  Royal  Mender  of  the  Stockings  of 
the  Ruler  of  Oz.  Ozma  wore  few  holes  in  her  stockings; 
still,  they  sometimes  needed  mending.  Aunt  Em  ought  to 
be  able  to  do  that  very  nicely. 

Next  day  the  Princess  watched  the  tunnel  again  in  her 
Magic  Picture,  and  every  day  afterward  she  devoted  a  few 
minutes  to  inspecting  the  work.  It  was  not  especially  inter 
esting,  but  she  felt  that  it  was  her  duty. 

Slowly  but  surely  the  big  arched  hole  crept  through  the 
rocks  underneath  the  deadly  desert,  and  day  by  day  it  drew 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Emerald  City. 

195 


DOROTHY  left  Bunbury  the  same  way  she  had  entered  it 
and  when  they  were  in  the  forest  again  she  said  to  Billina: 

"I  never  thought  that  things  good  to  eat  could  be  so 
dis'gree'ble." 

"Often  I  've  eaten  things  that  tasted  good  but  were  dis 
agreeable  afterward,"  returned  the  Yellow  Hen.  "I  think, 
Dorothy,  if  eatables  are  going  to  act  badly,  it  's  better  be 
fore  than  after  you  eat  them." 

"P  'raps  you  're  right,"  said  the  little  girl,  with  a  sigh. 
"But  what  shall  we  do  now?" 

"Let  us  follow  the  path  back  to  the  signpost,"  suggested 
Billina.  'That  will  be  better  than  getting  lost  again." 

"Why,  we  're  lost  anyhow,"  declared  Dorothy;  "but  I 
guess  you  're  right  about  going  back  to  that  signpost,  Bill- 


ma. 


196 


Chapter  Nineteen 

They  returned  along  the  path  to  the  place  where  they  had 
first  found  it,  and  at  once  took  "the  other  road"  to  Bunny- 
bury.  This  road  was  a  mere  narrow  strip,  worn  hard  and 
smooth  but  not  wide  enough  for  Dorothy's  feet  to  tread. 
Still  it  was  a  guide,  and  the  walking  through  the  forest  was 
not  at  all  difficult. 

Before  long  they  reached  a  high  wall  of  solid  white  mar 
ble,  and  the  path  came  to. an  end  at  this  wall. 

At  first  Dorothy  thought  there  was  no  opening  at  all  in 
the  marble,  but  on  looking  closely  she  discovered  a  small 
square  door  about  on  a  level  with  her  head,  and  underneath 
this  closed  door  was  a  bell-push.  Near  the  bell-push  a  sign 
was  painted  in  neat  letters  upon  the  marble,  and  the  sign 
read: 

No  Admittance 
Except  on  Business 

This  did  not  discourage  Dorothy,  however,  and  she  rang 
the  bell. 

Pretty  soon  a  bolt  was  cautiously  withdrawn  and  the 
marble  door  swung  slowly  open.  Then  she  saw  it  was  not 
really  a  door,  but  a  window,  for  several  brass  bars  were 
placed  across  it,  being  set  fast  in  the  marble  and  so  close 
together  that  the  little  girl's  fingers  might  barely  go  between 
them.  Back  of  the  bars  appeared  the  face  of  a  white  rabbit 

197 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

a  very  sober  and  sedate  face — with  an  eye-glass  held  in 

his  left  eye  and  attached  to  a  cord  in  his  button-hole. 

"Well!  what  is  it?"  asked  the  rabbit,  sharply. 

"I  'm  Dorothy,"  said  the  girl,  "and  I  'm  lost,  and—" 

"State  your  business,  please,"  interrupted  the  rabbit. 

"My  business,"  she  replied,  "is  to  find  out  where  I  am, 
and  to — " 

"No  one  is  allowed  in  Bunnybury  without  an  order  or  a 
letter  of  introduction  from  either  Ozma  of  Oz  or  Glinda  the 
Good,"  announced  the  rabbit;  "so  that  that  settles  the  mat 
ter,"  and  he  started  to  close  the  window. 

"Wait  a  minute !"  cried  Dorothy.  "I  've  got  a  letter  from 
Ozma." 

"From  the  Ruler  of  Oz?"  asked  the  rabbit,  doubtingly. 

"Of  course.  Ozma  's  my  best  friend,  you  know;  and  I  'm 
a  Princess  myself,"  she  announced,  earnestly. 

"Hum — ha!  Let  me  see  your  letter,"  returned  the  rab 
bit,  as  if  he  still  doubted  her. 

So  she  hunted  in  her  pocket  and  found  the  letter  Ozma 
had  given  her.  Then  she  handed  it  through  the  bars  to  the 
rabbit,  who  took  it  in  his  paws  and  opened  it.  He  read  it 
aloud  in  a  pompous  voice,  as  if  to  let  Dorothy  and  Billina 
see  that  he  was  educated  and  could  read  writing.  The  let 
ter  was  as  follows : 

198 


Chapter  Nineteen 

"It  will  please  me  to  have  my  subjects  greet  Prin 
cess  Dorothy,  the  bearer  of  this  royal  missive,  with 
the  same  courtesy  and  consideration  they  would  ex 
tend  to  me." 

"Ha — hum!    It  is  signed  'Ozma  of  Oz,' 3J  continued  the 

rabbit,  "and  is  sealed  with  the  Great  Seal  of  the  Emerald 

City.    Well,  well,  well!    How  strange!    How  remarkable!" 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it?"  inquired  Dorothy, 

impatiently. 

"We  must  obey  the  royal  mandate,"  replied  the  rabbit. 
"We  are  subjects  of  Ozma  of  Oz,  and  we  live  in  her  coun 
try.  Also  we  are  under  the  protection  of  the  great  Sorceress 
Glinda  the  Good,  who  made  us  promise  to  respect  Ozma's 
commands." 

"Then  may  I  come  in?"  she  asked. 

"I  '11  open  the  door,"  said  the  rabbit.  He  shut  the  win 
dow  and  disappeared,  but  a  moment  afterward  a  big  door 
in  the  wall  opened  and  admitted  Dorothy  to  a  small  room, 
which  seemed  to  be  a  part  of  the  wall  and  built  into  it. 

Here  stood  the  rabbit  she  had  been  talking  with,  and  now 
that  she  could  see  all  of  him  she  gazed  at  the  creature  in  sur 
prise.  He  was  a  good  sized  white  rabbit  with  pink  eyes, 
much  like  all  other  white  rabbits.  But  the  astonishing  thing 
about  him  was  the  manner  in  which  he  was  dressed.  He  wore 
a  white  satin  jacket  embroidered  with  gold,  and  having  dia- 

199 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

mond  buttons.  His  vest  was  rose-colored  satin,  with  tour 
maline  buttons.  His  trousers  were  white,  to  correspond  with 
the  jacket,  and  they  were  baggy  at  the  knees — like  those  of 
a  zouave — being  tied  with  knots  of  rose  ribbons.  His  shoes 
were  of  white  plush  with  diamond  buckles,  and  his  stock 
ings  were  rose  silk. 

The  richness  and  even  magnificence  of  the  rabbit's  cloth 
ing  made  Dorothy  stare  at  the  little  creature  wonderingly. 
Toto  and  Billina  had  followed  her  into  the  room  and  when 
he  saw  them  the  rabbit  ran  to  a  table  and  sprang  upon  it 
nimbly.  Then  he  looked  at  the  three  through  his  monocle 
and  said : 

'These  companions,  Princess,  cannot  enter  Bunnybury 
with  you." 

"Why  not?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"In  the  first  place  they  would  frighten  our  people,  who  dis 
like  dogs  above  all  things  on  earth;  and,  secondly,  the  letter 
of  the  Royal  Ozma  does  not  mention  them." 

"But  they  're  my  friends,"  persisted  Dorothy,  "and  go 
wherever  I  go." 

"Not  this  time,"  said  the  rabbit,  decidedly.  "You,  your 
self,  Pincess,  are  a  welcome  visitor,  since  you  come  so  highly 
recommended;  but  unless  you  consent  to  leave  the  dog  and 
the  hen  in  this  room  I  cannot  permit  you  to  enter  the  town." 

2OO 


Chapter  Nineteen 

"Never  mind  us,  Dorothy,"  said  Billina.  "Go  inside  and 
see  what  the  place  is  like.  You  can  tell  us  about  it  after 
ward,  and  Toto  and  I  will  rest  comfortably  here  until  you 


return.3 


This  seemed  the  best  thing  to  do,  for  Dorothy  was  cu 
rious  to  see  how  the  rabbit  people  lived  and  she  was  aware  of 
the  fact  that  her  friends  might  frighten  the  timid  little  crea 
tures.  She  had  not  forgotten  how  Toto  and  Billina  had 
misbehaved  in  Bunbury,  and  perhaps  the  rabbit  was  wise  to 
insist  on  their  staying  outside  the  town. 

"Very  well,"  she  said,  "I  '11  go  in  alone.  I  s'pose  you  're 
the  King  of  this  town,  are  n't  you?" 

"No,"  answered  the  rabbit,  "I  'm  merely  the  Keeper  of 
the  Wicket,  and  a  person  of  little  importance,  although  I 
try  to  do  my  duty.  I  must  now  inform  you,  Princess,  that 
before  you  enter  our  town  you  must  consent  to  reduce." 

"Reduce  what?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"Your  size.  You  must  become  the  size  of  the  rabbits, 
although  you  may  retain  your  own  form." 

"Would  n't  my  clothes  be  too  big  for  me?"  she  inquired. 

"No;  they  will  reduce  when  your  body  does." 

"Can  you  make  me  smaller?"  asked  the  girl. 

"Easily,"  returned  the  rabbit. 

"And  will  you  make  me  big  again,  when  I  'm  ready  to  go 
away?" 

201 


The  Emerald  City  of    Oz 

"I  will,"  said  he. 

"All  right,  then;  I  Jm  willing,"  she  announced. 

The  rabbit  jumped  from  the  table  and  ran — or  rather 
hopped — to  the  further  wall,  where  he  opened  a  door  so  tiny 
that  even  Toto  could  scarcely  have  crawled  through  it. 

"Follow  me,"  he  said. 

Now,  almost  any  other  little  girl  would  have  declared 
that  she  could  not  get  through  so  small  a  door;  but  Dorothy 
had  already  encountered  so  many  fairy  adventures  that  she 
believed  nothing  was  impossible  in  the  Land  of  Oz.  So  she 
quietly  walked  toward  the  door,  and  at  every  step  she  grew 
smaller  and  smaller  until,  by  the  time  the  opening  was 
reached,  she  could  pass  through  it  with  ease.  Indeed,  as 
she  stood  beside  the  rabbit,  who  sat  upon  his  hind  legs  and 
used  his  paws  as  hands,  her  head  was  just  about  as  high  as 
his  own. 

Then  the  Keeper  of  the  Wicket  passed  through  and  she 
followed,  after  which  the  door  swung  shut  and  locked  itself 
with  a  sharp  click. 

Dorothy  now  found  herself  in  a  city  so  strange  and  beau 
tiful  that  she  gave  a  gasp  of  surprise.  The  high  marble  wall 
extended  all  around  the  place  and  shut  out  all  the  rest  of  the 
world.  And  here  were  marble  houses  of  curious  forms,  most 
of  them  resembling  overturned  kettles  but  with  delicate 
slender  spires  and  minarets  running  far  up  into  the  sky.  The 

202 


Chapter  Nineteen 

streets  were  paved  with  white  marble  and  in  front  of  each 
house  was  a  lawn  of  rich  green  clover.  Everything  was  as 
neat  as  wax,  the  green  and  white  contrasting  prettily  to 
gether. 

But  the  rabbit  people  were,  after  all,  the  most  amazing 
things  Dorothy  saw.     The  streets  were  full  of  them,  and 


their  costumes  were  so  splendid  that  the  rich  dress  of  the 
Keeper  of  the  Wicket  was  commonplace  when  compared  with 
the  others.  Silks  and  satins  of  delicate  hues  seemed  always 
used  for  material,  and  nearly  every  costume  sparkled  with 
exquisite  gems. 

But  the  lady  rabbits  outshone  the  gentlemen  rabbits  in 

203 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

splendor,  and  the  cut  of  their  gowns  was  really  wonderful. 
They  wore  bonnets,  too,  with  feathers  and  jewels  in  them, 
and  some  wheeled  baby  carriages  in  which  the  girl  could  see 
wee  bunnies.  Some  were  lying  asleep  while  others  lay  suck 
ing  their  paws  and  looking  around  them  with  big  pink  eyes. 

As  Dorothy  was  no  bigger  in  size  than  the  grown-up  rab 
bits  she  had  a  chance  to  observe  them  closely  before  they  no 
ticed  her  presence.  Then  they  did  not  seem  at  all  alarmed, 
although  the  little  girl  naturally  became  the  center  of  at 
traction  and  all  regarded  her  with  great  curiosity. 

"Make  way!"  cried  the  Keeper  of  the  Wicket,  in  a 
pompous  voice;  "make  way  for  Princess  Dorothy,  who  comes 
from  Ozma  of  Oz." 

Hearing  this  announcement,  the  throng  of  rabbits  gave 
place  to  them  on  the  walks,  and  as  Dorothy  passed  along 
they  all  bowed  their  heads  respectfully. 

Walking  thus  through  several  handsome  streets  they 
came  to  a  square  in  the  center  of  the  City.  In  this  square 
were  some  pretty  trees  and  a  statue  in  bronze  of  Glinda  the 
Good,  while  beyond  it  were  the  portals  of  the  Royal  Palace 
—an  extensive  and  imposing  building  of  white  marble  cov 
ered  with  a  filigree  of  frosted  gold. 


204 


A  LINE  of  rabbit  soldiers  was  drawn  up  oefore  the  palace 
entrance,  and  they  wore  green  and  gold  uniforms  with  high 
shakos  upon  their  heads  and  held  tiny  spears  in  their  hands. 
The  Captain  had  a  sword  and  a  white  plume  in  his  shako. 

"Salute !"  cried  the  Keeper  of  the  Wicket.  "Salute  Prin 
cess  Dorothy,  who  comes  from  Ozma  of  Oz!" 

"Salute!"  yelled  the  Captain,  and  all  the  soldiers 
promptly  saluted. 

They  now  entered  the  great  hall  of  the  palace,  where 
they  met  a  gaily  dressed  attendant,  from  whom  the  Keeper 
of  the  Wicket  inquired  if  the  King  were  at  leisure. 

"I  think  so,"  was  the  reply.  "I  heard  his  Majesty  blub 
bering  and  wailing  as  usual  only  a  few  minutes  ago.  If  he 
does  n't  stop  acting  like  a  cry-baby  I  'm  going  to  resign  my 
position  here  and  go  to  work." 

205 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"What  's  the  matter  with  your  King?"  asked  Dorothy, 
surprised  to  hear  the  rabbit  attendant  speak  so  disrespect 
fully  of  his  monarch. 

"Oh,  he  does  n't  want  to  be  King,  that  's  all;  and  he 
simply  has  to,"  was  the  reply. 

"Come!"  said  the  Keeper  of  the  Wicket,  sternly;  "lead 
us  to  his  Majesty;  and  do  not  air  our  troubles  before  strang 
ers,  I  beg  of  you." 

"Why,  if  this  girl  is  going  to  see  the  King,  he  '11  air  his 
own  troubles,"  returned  the  attendant. 

"That  is  his  royal  privilege,"  declared  the  Keeper. 

So  the  attendant  led  them  into  a  room  all  draped  with 
cloth-of-gold  and  furnished  with  satin-covered  gold  furni 
ture.  There  was  a  throne  in  this  room,  set  on  a  dais  and  hav 
ing  a  big  cushioned  seat,  and  on  this  seat  reclined  the  Rab 
bit  King.  He  was  lying  on  his  back,  with  his  paws  in  the 
air,  and  whining  very  like  a  puppy-dog. 

"Your  Majesty!  your  Majesty!  Get  up.  Here  's  a 
visitor,"  called  out  the  attendant. 

The  King  rolled  over  and  looked  at  Dorothy  with  one 
watery  pink  eye.  Then  he  sat  up  and  wiped  his  eyes  care 
fully  with  a  silk  handkerchief  and  put  on  his  jeweled  crown, 
which  had  fallen  off. 

"Excuse  my  grief,  fair  stranger,"  he  said,  in  a  sad  voice. 

206 


Chapter  Twenty 


"You  behold  in  me  the  most  miserable  monarch  in  all  the 
world.  What  time  is  it,  Blinkem?' 

"One  o'clock,  your  Majesty,"  replied  the  attendant  to 
whom  the  question  was  addressed. 

"Serve    luncheon    at    once!"    commanded    the    King. 

"Luncheon  for  two — that  's  for  my  visitor  and  me — and  see 

that  the  human  has  some  sort  of  food  she  's  accustomed  to." 

"Yes,  your  Majesty,"  answered  the  attendant,  and  went 

away. 

"Tie  my  shoe,  Bristle,"  said  the  King  to  the  Keeper  of  the 
Wicket.  "Ah,  me!  how  unhappy  I  am!" 

"What  seems  to  be  worrying  your  Majesty?"  asked 
Dorothy. 

"Why,  it  's  this  king  business,  of  course,"  he  returned, 
while  the  Keeper  tied  his  shoe.  "I  did  n't  want  to  be  King  of 
Bunnybury  at  all,  and  the  rabbits  all  knew  it.  So  they 
elected  me — to  save  themselves  from  such  a  dreadful  fate, 
I  suppose — and  here  I  am,  shut  up  in  a  palace,  when  I  might 
be  free  and  happy." 

"Seems  to  me,"  said  Dorothy,  "it 's  a  great  thing  to  be  a 
King." 

"Were  you  ever  a  King4?"  inquired  the  monarch. 

"No,"  she  answered,  laughing. 

"Then  you  know  nothing  about  it,"  he  said.  "I  have  n't 
inquired  who  you  are,  but  it  does  n't  matter.  While  we  're 

207 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

at  luncheon,  I  '11  tell  you  all  my  troubles.  They  're  a  great 
deal  more  interesting  than  anything  you  can  say  about  your 
self." 

"Perhaps  they  are,  to  you,"  replied  Dorothy. 

"Luncheon  is  served!"  cried  Blinkem,  throwing  open  the 
door,  and  in  came  a  dozen  rabbits  in  livery,  all  bearing  trays 
which  they  placed  upon  the  table,  where  they  arranged  the 
dishes  in  an  orderly  manner. 

"Now  clear  out — all  of  you!"  exclaimed  the  King. 
"Bristle,  you  may  wait  outside,  in  case  I  want  you." 

When  they  had  gone  and  the  King  was  alone  with  Doro 
thy  he  came  down  from  his  throne,  tossed  his  crown  into  a 
corner  and  kicked  his  ermine  robe  under  the  table. 

"Sit  down,"  he  said,  "and  try  to  be  happy.  It 's  useless 
for  me  to  try,  because  I  'm  always  wretched  and  miserable. 
But  I  'm  hungry,  and  I  hope  you  are." 

"I  am,"  said  Dorothy.  "I  've  only  eaten  a  wheelbarrow 
and  a  piano  to-day — oh,  yes !  and  a  slice  of  bread  and  butter 
that  used  to  be  a  door-mat." 

"That  sounds  like  a  square  meal,"  remarked  the  King, 
seating  himself  opposite  her;  "but  perhaps  it  was  n't  a  square 
piano.  Eh?" 

Dorothy  laughed. 

"You  don't  seem  so  very  unhappy  now,"  she  said. 

208 


^"•••^  f-  .;;>-•  >*>••••$:.';-.  ::.,:,^:i'     ..&:*: 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"But  I  am,"  protested  the  King,  fresh  tears  gathering  in 
his  eyes.  "Even  my  jokes  are  miserable.  I  'm  wretched,  woe 
ful,  afflicted,  distressed  and  dismal  as  an  individual  can  be. 
Are  you  not  sorry  for  me?" 

"No,"  answered  Dorothy,  honestly,  "I  can't  say  I  am. 
Seems  to  me  that  for  a  rabbit  you  're  right  in  clover.  This 
is  the  prettiest  little  city  I  ever  saw." 

"Oh,  the  city  is  good  enough,"  he  admitted.  "Glinda, 
the  Good  Sorceress,  made  it  for  us  because  she  was  fond  of 
rabbits.  I  don't  mind  the  City  so  much,  although  1  would  n't 
live  here  if  I  had  my  choice.  It  is  being  King  that  has  ab 
solutely  ruined  my  happiness." 

"Why  would  n't  you  live  here  by  choice?"  she  asked. 

"Because  it  is  all  unnatural,  my  dear.  Rabbits  are  out 
of  place  in  such  luxury.  When  I  was  young  I  lived  in  a  bur 
row  in  the  forest.  I  was  surrounded  by  enemies  and  often 
had  to  run  for  my  life.  It  was  hard  getting  enough  to  eat, 
at  times,  and  when  I  found  a  bunch  of  clover  I  had  to  listen 
and  look  for  danger  while  I  ate  it.  Wolves  prowled  around 
the  hole  in  which  I  lived  and  sometimes  I  did  n't  dare  stir 
out  for  days  at  a  time.  Oh,  how  happy  and  contented  I  was 
then !  I  was  a  real  rabbit,  at  nature  made  me — wild  and  free ! 
-and  I  even  enjoyed  listening  to  the  startled  throbbing  of 
my  own  heart!" 

210 


Chapter  Twenty 


"I  Ve  often  thought,"  said  Dorothy,  who  was  busily  eat 
ing,  "that  it  would  be  fun  to  be  a  rabbit." 

"It  is  fun — when  you  're  the  genuine  article,"  agreed  his 
Majesty.  "But  look  at  me  now!  I  live  in  a  marble  palace 
instead  of  a  hole  in  the  ground.  I  have  all  I  want  to  eat, 
without  the  joy  of  hunting  for  it.  Every  day  I  must  dress 
in  fine  clothes  and  wear  that  horrible  crown  till  it  makes  my 
head  ache.  Rabbits  come  to  me  with  all  sorts  of  troubles, 
when  my  own  troubles  are  the  only  ones  I  care  about.  When 
I  walk  out  I  can't  hop  and  run;  I  must  strut  on  my  rear  legs 
and  wear  an  ermine  robe!  And  the  soldiers  salute  me  and 
the  band  plays  and  the  other  rabbits  laugh  and  clap  their 
paws  and  cry  out :  'Hail  to  the  King !'  Now  let  me  ask  you,  as 
a  friend  and  a  young  lady  of  good  judgment:  is  n't  all  this 
pomp  and  foolishness  enough  to  make  a  decent  rabbit  mis 
erable?" 

"Once,"  said  Dorothy,  reflectively,  "men  were  wild  and 
unclothed  and  lived  in  caves  and  hunted  for  food  as  wild 
beasts  do.  But  they  got  civ'lized,  in  time,  and  now  they  'd 
hate  to  go  back  to  the  old  days." 

"That  is  an  entirely  different  case,"  replied  the  King. 
"None  of  you  Humans  were  civilized  in  one  lifetime.  It 
came  to  you  by  degrees.  But  I  have  known  the  forest  and 
the  free  life,  and  that  is  why  I  resent  being  civilized  all  at 

211 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

once,  against  my  will,  and  being  made  a  King  with  a  crown 
and  an  ermine  robe.  Pah!" 

"If  you  don't  like  it,  why  don't  you  resign?"  she  asked. 

"Impossible!"  wailed  the  Rabbit,  wiping  his  eyes  again 
with  his  handkerchief.  "There  's  a  beastly  law  in  this  town 
that  forbids  it.  When  one  is  elected  a  King  there  's  no  get 
ting  out  of  it." 

"Who  made  the  laws?"  inquired  Dorothy. 

"The  same  Sorceress  who  made  the  town — Glinda  the 
Good.  She  built  the  wall,  and  fixed  up  the  City,  and  gave 
us  several  valuable  enchantments,  and  made  the  laws.  Then 
she  invited  all  the  pink-eyed  white  rabbits  of  the  forest  to 
come  here,  after  which  she  left  .us  to  our  fate." 

"What  made  you  'cept  the  invitation,  and  come  here?" 
asked  the  child.  , 

"I  did  n't  know  how  dreadful  city  life  was,  and  I  'd  no 
idea  I  would  be  elected  King,"  said  he,  sobbing  bitterly. 
"And — and — now  I  'm  It — with  a  capital  I — and  can't  es 
cape!" 

"I  know  Glinda,"  remarked  Dorothy,  eating  for  dessert 
a  dish  of  charlotte  russe,  "and  when  I  see  her  again  I  '11  ask 
her  to  put  another  King  in  your  place." 

"Will  you?  Will  you,  indeed?"  asked  the  King,  joy 
fully. 

"I  will  if  you  want  me  to,"  she  replied. 

212 


Chapter  Twenty 


"Hurroo — hurray!"  shouted  the  King;  and  then  he 
jumped  up  from  the  table  and  danced  wildly  about  the  room, 
waving  his  napkin  like  a  flag  and  laughing  with  glee. 

After  a  time  he  managed  to  control  his  delight  and  re 
turned  to  the  table. 

"When  are  you  likely  to  see  Glinda?"  he  inquired. 

"Oh,  p'raps  in  a  few  days,"  said  Dorothy. 
'And  you  won't  forget  to  ask  her?" 

"Of  course  not." 

"Princess,"  said  the  Rabbit  King,  earnestly,  "you  have 
relieved  me  of  a  great  unhappiness,  and  I  am  very  grateful. 
Therefore  I  propose  to  entertain  you,  since  you  are  my  guest 
and  I  am  the  King,  as  a  slight  mark  of  my  appreciation. 
Come  with  me  to  my  reception  hall." 

He  then  summoned  Bristle  and  said  to  him:  "Assemble 
all  the  nobility  in  the  great  reception  hall,  and  also  tell 
Blinkem  that  I  want  him  immediately." 

The  Keeper  of  the  Wicket  bowed  and  hurried  away,  and* 
his  Majesty  turned  to  Dorothy  and  continued:   "We  '11  have 
time  for  a  walk  in  the  gardens  before  the  people  get  here." 

The  gardens  were  back  of  the  palace  and  were  filled  with 
beautiful  flowers  and  fragrant  shrubs,  with  many  shade  and 
fruit  trees  and  marble  paved  walks  running  in  every  direc 
tion.  As  they  entered  this  place  Blinkem  came  running  to 
the  King,  who  gave  him  several  orders  in  a  low  voice.  Then 

213 


The   Emerald  City  of  Oz 

his  Majesty  rejoined  Dorothy  and  led  her  through  the  gar 
dens,  which  she  admired  very  much. 

"What  lovely  clothes  your  Majesty  wears!"  she  said, 
glancing  at  the  rich  blue  satin  costume,  embroidered  with 
pearls,  in  which  the  King  was  dressed. 

"Yes,"  he  returned,  with  an  air  of  pride,  "this  is  one  of 
my  favorite  suits ;  but  I  have  a  good  many  that  are  even  more 
elaborate.  We  have  excellent  tailors  in  Bunnybury,  and 
Glinda  supplies  all  the  material.  By  the  way,  you  might 
ask  the  Sorceress,  when  you  see  her,  to  permit  me  to  keep  my 
wardrobe." 

"But  if  you  go  back  to  the  forest  you  will  not  need 
clothes,"  she  said. 

"N — o!"  he  faltered;  "that  may  be  so.  But  I  've  dressed 
up  so  long  that  I  'm  used  to  it,  and  I  don't  imagine  I  'd  care  to 
run  around  naked  again.  So  perhaps  the  Good  Glinda  will 
let  me  keep  the  costumes." 

"I  '11  ask  her,"  agreed  Dorothy. 

Then  they  left  the  gardens  and  went  into  a  fine  big  recep 
tion  hall,  where  rich  rugs  were  spread  upon  the  tiled  floors 
and  the  furniture  was  exquisitely  carved  and  studded  with 
jewels.  The  King's  chair  was  an  especially  pretty  piece  of 
furniture,  being  in  the  shape  of  a  silver  lily  with  one  leaf 
bent  over  to  form  the  seat.  The  silver  was  everywhere 

214 


Chapter  Twenty 


thickly  encrusted  with  diamonds  and  the  seat  was  uphol 
stered  in  white  satin. 

"Oh,  what  a  splendid  chair!"  cried  Dorothy,  clasping  her 
hands  admiringly. 

"Is  n't  it?"  answered  the  King,  proudly.  "It  is  my  fa 
vorite  seat,  and  I  think  it  especially  becoming  to  my  com 
plexion.  While  I  think  of  it,  I  wish  you  'd  ask  Glinda  to 
let  me  keep  this  lily  chair  when  I  go  away." 

"It  would  n't  look  very  well  in  a  hole  in  the  ground, 
would  it?"  she  suggested. 

"Maybe  not;  but  I  'm  used  to  sitting  in  it  and  I  'd  like 
to  take  it  with  me,"  he  answered.  "But  here  come  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  the  court;  so  please  sit  beside  me  and  be 
presented." 


JUST  then  a  rabbit  band  of  nearly  fifty  pieces  marched  in, 
playing  upon  golden  instruments  and  dressed  in  neat  uni 
forms.  Following  the  band  came  the  nobility  of  Bunnybury, 
all  richly  dressed  and  hopping  along  on  their  rear  legs.  Both 
the  ladies  and  the  gentlemen  wore  white  gloves  upon  their 
paws,  with  their  rings  on  the  outside  of  the  gloves,  as  this 
seemed  to  be  the  fashion  here.  Some  of  the  lady  rabbits 
carried  lorgnettes,  while  many  of  the  gentlemen  rabbits  wore 
monocles  in  their  left  eyes. 

The  courtiers  and  their  ladies  paraded  past  the  King, 
who  introduced  Princess  Dorothy  to  each  couple  in  a  very 
graceful  manner.  Then  the  company  seated  themselves  in 
chairs  and  on  sofas  and  looked  expectantly  at  their  mon 
arch. 

"It  is  our  royal  duty,  as  well  as  our  royal  pleasure,"  he 

216 


Chapter  Twenty-One 

said,  "to  provide  fitting  entertainment  for  our  distinguished 
guest.  We  will  now  present  the  Royal  Band  of  Whiskered 
Friskers." 

As  he  spoke  the  musicians,  who  had  arranged  themselves 
in  a  corner,  struck  up  a  dance  melody  while  into  the  room 
pranced  the  Whiskered  Friskers.  They  were  eight  pretty 
rabbits  dressed  only  in  gauzy  purple  skirts  fastened  around 
their  waists  with  diamond  bands.  Their  whiskers  were  col 
ored  a  rich  purple,  but  otherwise  they  were  pure  white. 

After  bowing  before  the  King  and  Dorothy  the  Friskers 
began  their  pranks,  and  these  were  so  comical  that  Dorothy 
laughed  with  real  enjoyment.  They  not  only  danced  to 
gether,  whirling  and  gyrating  around  the  room,  but  they 
leaped  over  one  another,  stood  upon  their  heads  and  hopped 
and  skipped  here  and  there  so  nimbly  that  it  was  hard  work 
to  keep  track  of  them.  Finally  they  all  made  double  somer 
saults  and  turned  handsprings  out  of  the  room. 

The  nobility  enthusiastically  applauded,  and  Dorothy 
applauded  with  them. 

"They  're  fine !"  she  said  to  the  King. 

"Yes,  the  Whiskered  Friskers  are  really  very  clever,"  he 
replied.  "I  shall  hate  to  part  with  them  when  I  go  away,  for 
they  have  often  amused  me  when  I  was  very  miserable.  I 
wonder  if  you  would  ask  Glinda — " 

"No,  it  would  n't  do  at  all,"  declared  Dorothy,  posi- 

217 


The  Emerald   City  of  Oz 

tively.  "There  would  n't  be  room  in  your  hole  in  the  ground 
for  so  many  rabbits,  'spec'ly  when  you  get  the  lily  chair  and 
your  clothes  there.  Don't  think  of  such  a  thing,  your 
Majesty." 

The  King  sighed.  Then  he  stood  up  and  announced  to 
the  company : 

"We  will  now  behold  a  military  drill  by  my  picked  Body 
guard  of  Royal  Pikemen." 

Now  the  band  played  a  march  and  a  company  of  rabbit 
soldiers  came  in.  They  wore  green  and  gold  uniforms  and 
marched  very  stiffly  but  in  perfect  time.  Their  spears,  or 
pikes,  had  slender  shafts  of  polished  silver  with  golden  heads, 
and  during  the  drill  they  handled  these  weapons  with  won 
derful  dexterity. 

"I  should  think  you  'd  feel  pretty  safe  with  such  a  fine 
Bodyguard,"  remarked  Dorothy. 

"I  do,"  said  the  King.  "They  protect  me  from  every 
harm.  I  suppose  Glinda  would  n't — " 

"No,"  interrupted  the  girl;  "I  'm  sure  she  would  n't.  It/s 
the  King's  own  Bodyguard,  and  when  you  are  no  longer  King 
you  can  't  have  'em." 

The  King  did  not  reply,  but  he  looked  rather  sorrowful 
for  a  time. 

When  the  soldiers  had  marcned  out  he  said  to  the  com 
pany; 

218 


Chapter  Twenty-One 

"The  Royal  Jugglers  will  now  appear." 

Dorothy  had  seen  many  jugglers  in  her  lifetime,  but 
never  any  so  interesting  as  these.  There  were  six  of  them, 
dressed  in  black  satin  embroidered  with  queer  symbols  in  sil 
ver — a  costume  which  contrasted  strongly  with  their  snow- 
white  jfur. 

First  they  pushed  in  a  big  red  ball  and  three  of  the  rabbit 
jugglers  stood  upon  its  top  and  made  it  roll.  Then  two  of 
them  caught  up  a  third  and  tossed  him  into  the  air,  all  van 
ishing,  until  only  the  two  were  left.  Then  one  of  these 
tossed  the  other  upward  and  remained  alone  of  all  his  fel 
lows.  This  last  juggler  now  touched  the  red  ball,  which  fell 
apart,  being  hollow,  and  the  five  rabbits  who  had  disappeared 
in  the  air  scrambled  out  of  the  hollow  ball. 

Next  they  all  clung  together  and  rolled  swiftly  upon  the 
floor.  When  they  came  to  a  stop  only  one  fat  rabbit  juggler 
was  seen,  the  others  seeming  to  be  inside  him.  This  one 
leaped  lightly  into  the  air  and  when  he  came  down  he  ex 
ploded  and  separated  into  the  original  six.  Then  four  of 
them  rolled  themselves  into  round  balls  and  the  other  two 
tossed  them  around  and  played  ball  with  them. 

These  were  but  a  few  of  the  tricks  the  rabbit  jugglers  per 
formed,  and  they  were  so  skillful  that  all  the  nobility  and 
even  the  King  applauded  as  loudly  as  did  Dorothy. 

219 


TheEmerald  City  of  Oz 

"I  suppose  there  are  no  rabbit  jugglers  in  all  the  world  to 
compare  with  these,"  remarked  the  King.  "And  since  I  may 
not  have  the  Whiskered  Friskers  or  my  Bodyguard,  you  might 
ask  Glinda  to  let  me  take  away  just  two  or  three  of  these 
jugglers.  Will  you?" 

"I  '11  ask  her,"  replied  Dorothy,  doubtfully. 
"Thank  you,"  said  the  King;  "thank  you  very  much.  And 
now  you  shall  listen  to  the  Winsome  Waggish  Warblers,  who 
have  often  cheered  me  in  my  moments  of  anguish." 

The  Winsome  Waggish  Warblers  proved  to  be  a  quar 
tette  of  rabbit  singers,  two  gentlemen  and  two  lady  rabbits. 
The  gentlemen  Warblers  wore  full-dress  swallow-tailed  suits 
of  white  satin,  with  pearls  for  buttons,  while  the  lady  War 
blers  were  gowned  in  white  satin  dresses  with  long  trails. 
The  first  song  they  sang  began  in  this  way  : 
"When  a  rabbit  gets  a  habit 

Of  living  in  a  city 
And  wearing  clothes  and  furbelows 

And  jewels  rare  and  pretty, 
He  scorns  the  Bun  who  has  to  run 

And  burrow  in  the  ground 
And  pities  those  whose  watchful  foes 
Are  man  and  gun  and  hound." 
220 


Chapter  Twenty-One 

Dorothy  looked  at  the  King  when  she  heard  this  song  and 
noticed  that  he  seemed  disturbed  and  ill  at  ease. 

"I  don't  like  that  song/'  he  said  to  the  Warblers.    "Give 
us  something  jolly  and  rollicking." 

So  they  sang  to  a  joyous,  tinkling  melody  as  follows: 
"Bunnies  gay 
Delight  to  play 
In  their  fairy  town  secure ; 
Ev'ry  frisker 
Flirts  his  whisker 
At  a  pink-eyed  girl  demure. 
Ev'ry  maid 
In  silk  arrayed 
At  her  partner  shyly  glances, 
Paws  are  grasped, 
Waists  are  clasped 
As  they  whirl  in  giddy  dances. 
Then  together 
Through  the  heather 
'Neath  the  moonlight  soft  they  stroll; 
Each  is  very 
Blithe  and  merry, 
Gamboling  with  laughter  droll. 
Life  is  fun 
To  ev'ry  one 

221 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

•—^ '  ^ 

Guarded  by  our  magic  charm 
For  to  dangers 
We  are  strangers, 
Safe  from  any  thought  of  harm." 

"You  see,"  said  Dorothy  to  the  King,  when  the  song 
ended,  "the  rabbits  all  seem  to  like  Bunnybury  except  you. 
And  I  guess  you  're  the  only  one  that  ever  has  cried  or  was 
unhappy  and  wanted  to  get  back  to  your  muddy  hole  in  the 
ground." 

His  Majesty  seemed  thoughtful,  and  while  the  servants 
passed  around  glasses  of  nectar  and  plates  of  frosted  cakes 
their  King  was  silent  and  a  bit  nervous. 

When  the  refreshments  had  been  enjoyed  by  all  and  the 
servants  had  retired  Dorothy  said : 

"I  must  go  now,  for  it 's  getting  late  and  I  'm  lost.  I  've 
got  to  find  the  Wizard  and  Aunt  Em  and  Uncle  Henry  and 
all  the  rest  sometime  before  night  comes,  if  I  poss'bly  can." 

"Won't  you  stay  with  us?"  asked  the  King.  "You  will 
be  very  welcome." 

"No,  thank  you,"  she  replied.  "I  must  get  back  to  my 
friends.  And  I  want  to  see  Glinda  just  as  soon  as  I  can,  you 
know." 

So  the  King  dismissed  his  court  and  said  he  would  him 
self  walk  with  Dorothy  to  the  gate.  He  did  not  weep  nor 

222 


Chapter  Twenty-One 

groan  any  more,  but  his  long  face  was  quite  solemn  and  his 
big  ears  hung  dejectedly  on  each  side  of  it.  He  still  wore  his 
crown  and  his  ermine  and  walked  with  a  handsome  gold- 
headed  cane. 

When  they  arrived  at  the  room  in  the  wall  the  little  girl 
found  Toto  and  Billina  waiting  for  her  very  patiently.  They 
had  been  liberally  fed  by  some  of  the  attendants  and  were  in 
no  hurry  to  leave  such  comfortable  quarters. 

The  Keeper  of  the  Wicket  was  by  this  time  back  in  his 
old  place,  but  he  kept  a  safe  distance,  from  Toto.  Dorothy 
bade  good  bye  to  the  King  as  they  stood  just  inside  the  wall. 

"You  've  been  good  to  me,"  she  said,  "and  I  thank  you 
ever  so  much.  As  soon  as  possible  I  '11  see  Glinda  and  ask 
her  to  put  another  King  in  your  place  and  send  you  back  into 
the  wild  forest.  And  I  '11  ask  her  to  let  you  keep  some  of 
your  clothes  and  the  lily  chair  and  one  or  two  jugglers  to 
amuse  you.  I  'm  sure  she  will  do  it,  'cause  she  's  so  kind  she 
does  n't  like  any  one  to  be  unhappy." 

"Ahem!"  said  the  King,  looking  rather  downcast.  "I 
don't  like  to  trouble  you  with  my  misery;  so  you  need  n't  see 
Glinda." 

"Oh,  yes  I  will,"  she  replied.  "It  won't  be  any  trouble  at 
all." 

"But,  my  dear,"  continued  the  King,  in  an  embarrassed 
way,  "I  've  been  thinking  the  subject  over  carefully,  and  I 

223 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

find  there  are  a  lot  of  pleasant  things  here  in  Bunnybury  that 
I  would  miss  if  I  went  away.  So  perhaps  I  'd  better  stay." 

Dorothy  laughed.    Then  she  looked  grave. 

"It  won't  do  for  you  to  be  a  King  and  a  cry-baby  at  the 
same  time,"  she  said.  "You  've  been  making  all  the  other 
rabbits  unhappy  and  discontented  with  your  howls  about 
being  so  miserable.  So  I  guess  its  better  to  have  another 
King." 

"Oh,  no  indeed!"  exclaimed  the  King,  earnestly.  "If 
you  won't  say  anything  to  Glinda  I  '11  promise  to  be  merry 
and  gay  all  the  time,  and  never  cry  or  wail  again." 

"Honor  bright?"  she  asked. 

"On  the  royal  word  of  a  King  I  promise  it!"  he  answered. 

"All  right,"  said  Dorothy.  "You  'd  be  a  reg'lar  lunatic 
to  want  to  leave  Bunnybury  for  a  wild  life  in  the  forest,  and 
I  'm  sure  any  rabbit  outside  the  city  would  be  glad  to  take 
your  place." 

"Forget  it,  my  dear;  forget  all  my  foolishness,"  pleaded 
the  King,  earnestly.  "Hereafter  I  '11  try  to  enjoy  myself  and 
do  my  duty  by  my  subjects." 

So  then  she  left  him  and  entered  through  the  little  door 
into  the  room  in  the  wall,  where  she  grew  gradually  bigger 
and  bigger  until  she  had  resumed  her  natural  size. 

The  Keeper  of  the  Wicket  let  them  out  into  the  forest 
and  told  Dorothy  that  she  had  been  of  great  service  to 

224 


Chapter  Twenty-One 

Bunnybury  because  she  had  brought  their  dismal  King  to  a 
realization  of  the  pleasure  of  ruling  so  beautiful  a  city. 

"I  shall  start  a  petition  to  have  your  statue  erected  beside 
Glinda's  in  the  public  square,"  said  the  Keeper.  "I  hope  you 
will  come  again,  some  day,  and  see  it." 

"Perhaps  I  shall,"  she  replied. 

Then,  followed  by  Toto  and  Billina,  she  walked  away 
from  the  high  marble  wall  and  started  back  along  the  narrow 
path  toward  the  sign-post. 


225 


WHEN  they  came  to  the  signpost,  there,  to  their  joy,  were 
the  tents  of  the  Wizard  pitched  beside  the  path  and  the  ket 
tle  bubbling  merrily  over  a  fire.  The  Shaggy  Man  and  Omby 
Amby  were  gathering  firewood  while  Uncle  Henry  and 
Aunt  Em  sat  in  their  camp  chairs  talking  with  the  Wizard. 

They  all  ran  forward  to  greet  Dorothy,  as  she  approached, 
and  Aunt  Em  exclaimed:  "Goodness  gracious,  child!  Where 
have  you  been?" 

"You  Jve  played  hookey  the  whole  day,"  added  the 
Shaggy  Man,  reproachfully. 

"Well,  you  see,  I  've  been  lost,"  explained  the  little  girl, 
"and  I  've  tried  awful  hard  to  find  the  way  back  to  you,  but 
just  could  n't  do  it." 

"Did  you  wander  in  the  forest  all  day?"  asked  Uncle 
Henry. 

226 


Chapter  Twenty-Two 

"You  must  be  a'most  starved!"  said  Aunt  Em. 

"No,"  said  Dorothy,  'T 'm  not  hungry.  I  had  a  wheel 
barrow  and  a  piano  for  breakfast,  and  lunched  with  a  King." 

"Ah!"  exclaimed  the  Wizard,  nodding  with  a  bright 
smile.  "So  you  've  been  having  adventures  again." 

"She  's  stark  crazy!"  cried  Aunt  Em.  "Whoever  heard 
of  eating  a  wheelbarrow?" 

"It  was  n't  very  big,"  said  Dorothy;  "and  it  had  a  zuzu 
wheel." 

"And  I  ate  the  crumbs,"  added  Billina,  soberly. 

"Sit  down  and  tell  us  about  it,"  begged  the  Wizard. 
"We  've  hunted  for  you  all  day,  and  at  last  I  noticed  your 
footsteps  in  this  path — and  the  tracks  of  Billina.  We  found 
the  path  by  accident,  and  seeing  it  only  led  to  two  places  I  de 
cided  you  were  at  either  one  or  the  other  of  those  places.  So 
we  made  camp  and  waited  for  you  to  return.  And  now, 
Dorothy,  tell  us  where  you  have  been — to  Bunbury  or  to 
Bunnybury?" 

"Why,  I  've  been  to  both,"  she  replied;  "but  first  I  went 
to  Utensia,  which  is  n't  on  any  path  at  all." 

She  then  sat  down  and  related  the  day's  adventures,  and 
you  may  be  sure  Aunt  Em  and  Uncle  Henry  were  much  as 
tonished  at  the  story. 

"But  after  seeing  the  Cuttenclips  and  the  Fuddles,"  re- 

227 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

marked  her  uncle,  "we  ought  not  to  wonder  at  anything  in 
this  strange  country. 

"Seems  like  the  only  common  and  ordinary  folks  here  are 
ourselves,"  rejoined  Aunt  Em,  diffidently. 

"Now  that  we  're  together  again,  and  one  reunited  party," 
observed  the  Shaggy  Man,  "what  are  we  to  do  next?" 

"Have  some  supper  and  a  night  's  rest,"  answered  the 
Wizard  promptly,  "and  then  proceed  upon  our  journey." 

"Where  to?"  asked  the  Captain  General. 

"We  have  n't  visited  the  Rigmaroles  or  the  Flutterbud- 
gets  yet,"  said  Dorothy.  "I  'd  like  to  see  them — would  n't 
you?" 

"They  don't  sound  very  interesting,"  objected  Aunt  Em. 
"But  perhaps  they  are." 

"And  then,"  continued  the  little  Wizard,  "we  will  call 
upon  the  Tin  Woodman  and  Jack  Pumpkinhead  and  our  old 
friend  the  Scarecrow,  on  our  way  home." 

"That  will  be  nice!"  cried  Dorothy,  eagerly. 

"Can't  say  they  sound  very  interesting,  either,"  remarked 
Aunt  Em. 

"Why,  they  're  the  best  friends  I  have !"  asserted  the  little 
girl,  "and  you  're  sure  to  like  them,  Aunt  Em,  'cause  ever'- 
body  likes  them." 

By  this  time  twilight  was  approaching,  so  they  ate  the 

228 


Chapter  Twenty-Two 

fine  supper  which  the  Wizard  magically  produced  from  the 
kettle  and  then  went  to  bed  in  the  cosy  tents. 

They  were  all  up  bright  and  early  next  morning,  but 
Dorothy  did  n't  venture  to  wander  from  the  camp  again  for 
fear  of  more  accidents. 

"Do  you  know  where  there  's  a  road?"  she  asked  the  lit 
tle  man. 

"No,  my  dear,"  replied  the  Wizard;  "but  I  '11  find  one." 

After  breakfast  he  waved  his  hand  toward  the  tents  and 
they  became  handkerchiefs  again,  which  were  at  once  re 
turned  to  the  pockets  of  their  owners.  Then  they  all  climbed 
into  the*  red  wagon  and  the  Sawhorse  inquired : 

"Which  way?" 

"Never  mind  which  way,"  replied  the  Wizard.  "Just 
go  as  you  please  and  you  're  sure  to  be  right.  I  've  enchanted 
the  wheels  of  the  wagon,  and  they  will  roll  in  the  right  direc 
tion,  never  fear." 

As  the  Sawhorse  started  away  through  the  trees  Dorothy 
said: 

"If  we  had  one  of  those  new-fashioned  airships  we  could 
float  away  over  the  top  of  the  forest,  and  look  down  and  find 
just  the  places  we  want. 

"Airship?  Pah!"  retorted  the  little  man,  scornfully.  "I 
hate  those  things,  Dorothy,  although  they  are  nothing  new  to 
either  you  or  me.  I  was  a  balloonist-  for  many  years,  and 

229 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

once  my  balloon  carried  me  to  the  Land  of  Oz,  and  once  to 
the  Vegetable  Kingdom.  And  once  Ozma  had  a  Gump  that 
flew  all  over  this  kingdom  and  had  sense  enough  to  go  where 
it  was  told  to — which  airships  won't  do.  The  house  which 
the  cyclone  brought  to  Oz  all  the  way  from  Kansas,  with  you 
and  Toto  in  it — was  a  real  airship  at  the  time;  so  you  see 
we  've  had  plenty  of  experience  flying  with  the  birds." 

"Airships  are  not  so  bad,  after  all,"  declared  Dorothy. 
"Some  day  they  '11  fly  all  over  the  world,  and  perhaps  bring 
people  even  to  the  Land  of  Oz." 

"I  must  speak  to  Ozma  about  that,"  said  the  Wizard, 
with  a  slight  frown.  "It  would  n't  do  at  all,  you  know,  for 
the  Emerald  City  to  become  a  way-station  on  an  airship  line." 

"No,"  said  Dorothy,  "I  don't  s'pose  it  would.  But  what 
can  we  do  to  prevent  it?" 

"I  'm  working  out  a  magic  recipe  to  fuddle  men's  brains, 
so  they  '11  never  make  an  airship  that  will  go  where  they  want 
it  to  go,"  the  Wizard  confided  to  her.  "That  won't  keep  the 
things  from  flying,  now  and  then,  but  it  '11  keep  them  from 
flying  to  the  Land  of  Oz." 

Just  then  the  Sawhorse  drew  the  wagon  out  of  the  forest 
and  a  beautiful  landscape  lay  spread  before  the  travelers' 
eyes.  Moreover,  right  before  them  was  a  good  road  that 
wound  away  through  the  hills  and  valleys. 

"Now,"  said  the  Wizard,  with  evident  delight,  "we  are 

230 


Chapter  Twenty-Two 

on  the  right  track  again,  and  there  is  nothing  more  to  worry 
about." 

"It  5s  a  foolish  thing  to  take  chances  in  a  strange  country," 
observed  the  Shaggy  Man.     "Had  we  kept  to  the  roads  we 


never  would  have  been  lost.  Roads  always  leads  to  some 
place,  else  they  would  n't  be  roads." 

"This  road,"  added  the  Wizard,  "leads  to  Rigmarole 
Town.  I  'm  sure  of  that  because  I  enchanted  the  wagon 
wheels." 

Sure  enough,  after  riding  along  the  road  for  an  hour  or 
two  they  entered  a  pretty  valley  where  a  village  was  nest)  ed 

231 


The  Emerald  City  of    Oz 

among  the  hills.  The  houses  were  Munchkin  shaped,  for  they 
were  all  domes,  with  windows  wider  than  they  were  high,  and 
pretty  balconies  over  the  front  doors. 

Aunt  Em  was  greatly  relieved  to  find  this  town  "neither 
paper  nor  patch- work,"  and  the  only  surprising  thing  about 
it  was  that  it  was  so  far  distant  from  all  other  towns. 

As  the  Sawhorse  drew  the  wagon  into  the  main  street  the 
travelers  noticed  that  the  place  was  filled  with  people,  stand 
ing  in  groups  and  seeming  to  be  engaged  in  earnest  conversa 
tion.  So  occupied  with  themselves  were  the  inhabitants  that 
they  scarcely  noticed  the  strangers  at  all.  So  the  Wizard 
stopped  a  boy  and  asked: 

"Is  this  Rigmarole  Town?" 

"Sir,"  replied  the  boy,  "if  you  nave  traveled  very  much 
you  will  have  noticed  that  every  town  differs  from  every 
other  town  in  one  way  or  another  and  so  by  observing  the 
methods  of  the  people  and  the  way  they  live  as  well  as  the 
style  of  their  dwelling  places  it  ought  not  to  be  a  difficult 
thing  to  make  up  your  mind  without  the  trouble  of  asking 
questions  wrhether  the  town  bears  the  appearance  of  the  one 
you  intended  to  visit  or  whether  perhaps  having  taken  a  dif 
ferent  road  from  the  one  you  should  have  taken  you  have 
made  an  error  in  your  way  and  arrived  at  some  point 
where — " 

232 


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3d 


Chapter  Twenty-Two 

"Land  sakes!"  cried  Aunt  Em,  impatiently;  "what 's  all 
this  rigmarole  about?" 

"That  's  it!"  said  the  Wizard,  laughing  merrily.  "It  's 
a  rigmarole  because  the  boy  is  a  Rigmarole  and  we  've  come 
to  Rigmarole  Town." 

"Do  they  all  talk  like  that?"  asked  Dorothy,  wonderingly. 

"He  might  have  said  'yes'  or  'no'  and  settled  the  ques 
tion,"  observed  Uncle  Henry. 

"Not  here,"  said  Omby  Amby.  "I  don't  believe  the  Rig 
maroles  know  what  'yes'  or  'no'  means." 

While  the  boy  had  been  talking  several  other  people  had 
approached  the  wagon  and  listened  intently  to  his  speech. 
Then  they  began  talking  to  one  another  in  long,  de 
liberate  speeches,  where  many  words  were  used  but  little  was 
said.  But  when  the  strangers  criticised  them  so  frankly  one  of 
the  women,  who  had  no  one  else  to  talk  to,  began  an  address 
to  them,  saying : 

"It  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  for  a  person  to  say 
'yes'  or  'no'  when  a  question  that  is  asked  for  the  purpose  of 
gaining  information  or  satisfying  the  curiosity  of  the  one  who 
has  given  expression  to  the  inquiry  has  attracted  the  attention 
of  an  individual  who  may  be  competent  either  from  personal 
experience  or  the  experience  of  others  to  answer  it  with  more 
or  less  correctness  or  at  least  an  attempt  to  satisfy  the  desire 

233 


The   Emerald  City  of  Oz 

for  information  on  the  part  of  the  one  who  has  made  the  in 
quiry  by — " 

"Dear  me!"  exclaimed  Dorothy,  interrupting  the  speech. 
"I  've  lost  all  track  of  what  you  are  saying." 

"Don't  let  her  begin  over  again,  for  goodness  sake !"  cried 
Aunt  Em. 

But  the  woman  did  not  begin  again.  She  did  not  even 
stop  talking,  but  went  right  on  as  she  had  begun,  the  words 
flowing  from  her  mouth  in  a  stream. 

"I  'm  quite  sure  that  if  we  waited  long  enough  and  lis 
tened  carefully,  some  of  these  people  might  be  able  to  tell 
us  something,  in  time,"  said  the  Wizard. 

"Don't  let  's  wait,"  returned  Dorothy.  "I  've  heard  of 
the  Rigmaroles,  and  wondered  what  they  were  like ;  but  now 
I  know,  and  I  'm  ready  to  move  on." 

"So  am  I,"  declared  Uncle  Henry;  "we  're  wasting  time 
here." 

"Why,  we  're  all  ready  to  go,"  added  the  Shaggy  Man, 
putting  his  fingers  to  his  ears  to  shut  out  the  monotonous 
babble  of  those  around  the  wagon. 

So  the  Wizard  spoke  to  the  Sawhorse,  who  trotted  nimbly 
through  the  village  and  soon  gained  the  open  country  on 
the  other  side  of  it.  Dorothy  looked  back,  as  they  rode  away, 
and  noticed  that  the  woman  had  not  yet  finished  her  speech 

234 


Chapter  Twenty- Two 

but  was  talking  as  glibly  as  ever,  although  no  one  was  near 
to  hear  her. 

"If  those  people  wrote  books,"  Omby  Amby  remarked 
with  a  smile,  "it  would  take  a  whole  library  to  say  the  cow 
jumped  over  the  moon." 


'Perhaps  some  o*  em  do  write  books,"  asserted  the  little 
Wizard.  "I  Jve  read  a  few  rigmaroles  that  might  have  come 
from  this  very  town." 

"Some  of  the  college  lecturers  and  ministers  are  certainly 
related  to  these  people,"  observed  the  Shaggy  Man;  "and  it 
seems  to  me  the  Land  of  Oz  is  a  little  ahead  of  the  United 

235 


The  Emerald   City  of  Oz 

States  in  some  of  its  laws.  For  here,  if  one  can't  talk  clearly, 
and  straight  to  the  point,  they  send  him  to  Rigmarole  Town ; 
while  Uncle  Sam  lets  him  roam  around  wild  and  free,  to  tor 
ture  innocent  people." 

Dorothy  was  thoughtful.  The  Rigmaroles  had  made  a 
strong  impression  upon  her.  She  decided  that  whenever  she 
spoke,  after  this,  she  would  use  only  enough  words  to  ex 
press  what  she  wanted  to  say. 


236 


THEY  were  soon  among  the  pretty  hills  and  valleys  again, 
and  the  Sawhorse  sped  up  hill  and  down  at  a  fast  and  easy 
pace,  the  roads  being  hard  and  smooth.  Mile  after  mile  was 
speedily  covered,  and  before  the  ride  had  grown  at  all  tire 
some  they  sighted  another  village.  The  place  seemed  even 
larger  than  Rigmarole  Town,  but  was  not  so  attractive  in  ap 
pearance. 

"This  must  be  Flutterbudget  Center,"  declared  the  Wiz 
ard.  "You  see,  it  's  no  trouble  at  all  to  find  places  if  you 
keep  to  the  right  road." 

"What  are  the  Flutterbudgets  like?"  inquired  Dorothy. 

"I  do  not  know,  my  dear.  But  Ozma  has  given  them  a 
town  all  their  own,  and  I  've  heard  that  whenever  one  of  the 
people  becomes  a  Flutterbudget  he  is  sent  to  this  place  to 
live." 

237 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"That  is  true,"  Omby  Amby  added;  "Flutterbudget  Cen 
ter  and  Rigmarole  Town  are  called  'the  Defensive  Settle 
ments  of  Oz.' ' 

The  village  they  now  approached  was  not  built  in  a  val 
ley,  but  on  top  of  a  hill,  and  the  road  they  followed  wound 
around  the  hill  like  a  corkscrew,  ascending  the  hill  easily 
until  it  came  to  the  town. 

"Look  out!"  screamed  a  voice.  "Look  out,  or  you  '11  run 
over  my  child!" 

They  gazed  around  and  saw  a  woman  standing  upon  the 
sidewalk  nervously  wringing  her  hands  as  she  gazed  at  them 
appealingly. 

"Where  is  your  child?"  asked  the  Sawhorse. 

"In  the  house,"  said  the  woman,  bursting  into  tears;  "but 
if  it  should  happen  to  be  in  the  road,  and  you  ran  over  it, 
those  great  wheels  would  crush  my  darling  to  jelly.  Oh, 
dear!  oh  dear!  Think  of  my  darling  child  being  crushed  to 
jelly  by  those  great  wheels !" 

"Gid-dap!"  said  the  Wizard,  sharply,  and  the  Sawhorse 
started  on. 

They  had  not  gone  far  before  a  man  ran  out  of  a  house 
shouting  wildly:  "Help!  Help!" 

The  Sawhorse  stopped  short  and  the  Wizard  and  Uncle 
Henry  and  the  Shaggy  Man  and  Omby  Amby  jumped  out  of 

238 


Chapter  Twenty-Three 

the  wagon  and  ran  to  the  poor  man's  assistance.     Dorothy 
followed  them  as  quickly  as  she  could. 

"What  's  the  matter?"  asked  the  Wizard. 

"Help !  help !"  screamed  the  man ;  "my  wife  has  cut  her  fin 
ger  off  and  she  's  bleeding  to  death!" 

Then  he  turned  and  rushed  back  to  the  house,  and  all 
the  party  went  with  him.  They  found  a  woman  in  the  front 
dooryard  moaning  and  groaning  as  if  in  great  pain. 

"Be  brave,  madam!"  said  the  Wizard,  consolingly.  "You 
won't  die  just  because  you  have  cut  off  a  finger,  you  may  be 
sure." 

"But  I  have  n't  cut  off  a  finger!"  she  sobbed. 

"Then  what  has  happened?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"I — I  pricked  my  finger  with  a  needle  while  I  was  sewing, 
and — and  the  blood  came !"  she  replied.  "And  now  I  '11  have 
blood-poisoning,  and  the  doctors  will  cut  off  my  finger,  and 
that  will  give  me  a  fever  and  I  shall  die!" 

"Pshaw!"  said  Dorothy;  "I  've  pricked  my  finger  many  a 
time,  and  nothing  happened." 

"Really?"  asked  the  woman,  brightening  and  wiping  her 
eyes  upon  her  apron. 

"Why,  it 's  nothing  at  all,"  declared  the  girl.  "You  're 
more  scared  than  hurt." 

Ah,  that  's  because  she  's  a  Flutterbudget,"  said  the 

239 


The  Emerald   City  of  Oz 

Wizard,  nodding  wisely.  "I  think  I  know  now  what  these 
people  are  like." 

"So  do  I,"  announced  Dorothy. 

"Oh,  boo-hoo-hoo!"  sobbed  the  woman,  giving  way  to  a 
fresh  burst  of  grief. 

"What  's  wrong  now?"  asked  the  Shaggy  Man. 

"Oh,  suppose  I  had  pricked  my  foot !"  she  wailed.  "Then 
the  doctors  would  have  cut  my  foot  off,  and  I  'd  be  lamed  for 
life!" 

"Surely,  ma'am,"  replied  the  Wizard,  "and  if  you  'd 
pricked  your  nose  they  might  cut  your  head  off.  But  you 
see  you  did  n't." 

"But  I  might  have!"  she  exclaimed,  and  began  to  cry 
again.  So  they  left  her  and  drove  away  in  their  wagon.  And 
her  husband  came  out  and  began  calling  "Help!"  as  he  had 
before ;  but  no  one  seemed  to  pay  any  attention  to  him. 

As  the  travelers  turned  into  another  street  they  found  a 
man  walking  excitedly  up  and  down  the  pavement.  He  ap 
peared  to  be  in  a  very  nervous  condition  and  the  Wizard 
stopped  him  to  ask: 

"Is  anything  wrong,  sir?" 

"Everything  is  wrong,"  answered  the  man,  dismally.  "I 
can't  sleep." 

"Why  not?"  inquird  Omby  Amby. 

"If  I  go  to  sleep  I  '11  have  to  shut  my  eyes,"  he  explained; 

240 


Chapter  Twenty -Three 

"and  if  I  shut  my  eyes  they  may  grow  together,  and  then  I  Jd 
be  blind  for  life!" 

"Did  you  ever  hear  of  any  one's  eyes  growing  together?" 
asked  Dorothy. 

"No,"  said  the  man,  "I  never  did.  But  it  would  be  a 
dreadful  thing,  would  n't  it?  And  the  thought  of  it  makes  me 
so  nervous  I  'm  afraid  to  go  to  sleep." 

"There 's  no  help  for  this  case,"  declared  the  Wizard;  and 
they  went  on. 

At  the  next  street  corner  a  woman  rushed  up  to  them  cry 
ing: 

"Save  my  baby!   Oh,  good,  kind  people,  save  my  baby!" 

"Is  it  in  danger?"  asked  Dorothy,  noticing  that  the  child 
was  clasped  in  her  arms  and  seemed  sleeping  peacefully. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  said  the  woman,  nervously.  "If  I  should 
go  into  the  house  and  throw  my  child  out  of  the  window,  it 
would  roll  way  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill;  and  then  if 
there  were  a  lot  of  tigers  and  bears  down  there,  they  would 
tear  my  darling  babe  to  pieces  and  eat  it  up!" 

"Are  there  any  tigers  and  bears  in  this  neighborhood?" 
the  Wizard  asked. 

"I  've  never  heard  of  any,"  admitted  the  woman;  "but  if 
there  were — " 

"Have  you  any  idea  of  throwing  your  baby  out  of  the 
window?"  questioned  the  little  man. 

241 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"None  at  all,"  she  said;  "but  if—" 

"All  your  troubles  are  due  to  those  'ifs',"  declared  the 
Wizard.  "If  you  were  not  a  Flutterbudget  you  would  n't 
worry." 

"There  's  another  'if',"  replied  the  woman.  "Are  you 
a  Flutterbudget,  too?" 

"I  will  be,  if  I  stay  here  long,"  exclaimed  the  Wizard, 
nervously. 

"Another  'if !"  cried  the  woman. 

But  the  Wizard  did  not  stop  to  argue  with  her.  He  made 
the  Sawhorse  canter  all  the  way  down  the  hill,  and  only 
breathed  easily  when  they  were  miles  away  from  the  village. 

After  they  had  ridden  in  silence  for  a  while  Dorothy 
turned  to  the  little  man  and  asked : 

"Do  'ifs'  really  make  Flutterbudgets?" 

"I  think  the  'ifs'  help,"  he  answered  seriously  .  "Foolish 
fears,  and  worries  over  nothing,  with  a  mixture  of  nerves  and 
ifs,  will  soon  make  a  Flutterbudget  of  any  one." 

Then  there  was  another  long  silence,  for  all  the  travelers 
were  thinking  over  this  statement,  and  nearly  all  decided  it 
must  be  true. 

The  country  they  were  now  passing  through  was  every 
where  tinted  purple,  the  prevailing  color  of  the  Gillikin 
Country;  but  as  the  Sawhorse  ascended  a  hill  they  found  that 
upon  the  other  side  everything  Was  of  a  rich  yellow  hue. 

242 


Chapter  Twenty-Three 

"Aha!"  cried  the  Captain  General;  "here  is  the  Country 
of  the  Winkies.  We  are  just  crossing  the  boundary  line." 

"Then  we  may  be  able  to  lunch  with  the  Tin  Woodman," 
announced  the  Wizard,  joyfully. 

"Must  we  lunch  on  tin?"  asked  Aunt  Em. 

"Oh,  no;"  replied  Dorothy.  "Nick  Chopper  knows  how 
to  feed  meat  people,  and  he  will  give  us  plenty  of  good  things 
to  eat,  never  fear.  I  've  been  to  his  castle  before." 

"Is  Nick  Chopper  the  Tin  Woodman's  name?"  asked 
Uncle  Henry. 

"Yes;  that 's  one  of  his  names,"  answered  the  little  girl; 
"and  another  of  his  names  is  'Emp'ror  of  the  Winkies/  He  's 
the  King  of  this  country,  you  know,  but  Ozma  rules  over  all 
the  countries  of  Oz." 

"Does  the  Tin  Woodman  keep  any  Flutterbudgets  or 
Rigmaroles  at  his  castle?"  inquired  Aunt  Em,  uneasily. 

"No,  indeed,"  said  Dorothy,  positively.  "He  lives  in  a 
new  tin  castle,  all  full  of  lovely  things." 

"I  should  think  it  would  rust,"  said  Uncle  Henry. 

"He  has  thousands  of  Winkies  to  keep  it  polished  for 
him,"  explained  the  Wizard.  "His  people  love  to  do  any 
thing  in  their  power  for  their  beloved  Emperor,  so  there  is  n't 
a  particle  of  rust  on  all  the  big  castle." 

"I  suppose  they  polish  their  Emperor,  too,"  said  Aunt 
Em. 

243 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Why,  some  time  ago  he  had  himself  nickel-plated,"  the 
Wizard  answered;  "so  he  only  needs  rubbing  up  once  in  a 
while.  He  's  the  brightest  man  in  all  the  world,  is  dear  Nick 
Chopper;  and  the  kindest-hearted." 

"I  helped  find  him,"  said  Dorothy,  reflectively.  "Once 
the  Scarecrow  and  I  found  the  Tin  Woodman  in  the  woods, 
and  he  was  just  rusted  still,  that  time,  an'  no  mistake.  But 
we  oiled  his  joints,  an'  got  'em  good  and  slippery,  and  after 
that  he  went  with  us  to  visit  the  Wizard  at  the  Em' raid 
City." 

"Was  that  the  time  the  Wizard  scared  you*?"  asked  Aunt 
Em. 

"He  did  n't  treat  us  well,  at  first,"  acknowledged  Doro 
thy;  "for  he  made  us  go  away  and  destroy  the  Wicked  Witch. 
But  after  we  found  out  he  was  only  a  humbug  wizard  we  were 
not  afraid  of  him." 

The  Wizard  sighed  and  looked  a  little  ashamed. 

"When  we  try  to  deceive  people  we  always  make  mis 
takes,"  he  said.  "But  I  'm  getting  to  be  a  real  wizard  now, 
and  Glinda  the  Good's  magic,  that  I  am  trying  to  practice, 
can  never  harm  any  one." 

"You  were  always  a  good  man,"  declared  Dorothy,  "even 
when  you  were  a  bad  wizard." 

"He  's  a  good  wizard  now,"  asserted  Aunt  Em,  looking 
at  the  little  man  admiringly.  "The  way  he  made  those  tents 

244- 


Chap  ter  T  wen  ty  -  Three 

grow  out  of  handkerchiefs  was  just  wonderful!  And  did  n't 
he  enchant  the  wagon  wheels  so  they  'd  find  the  road?" 

"All  the  people  of  Oz,"  said  the  Captain  General,  "are 
very  proud  of  their  Wizard.  He  once  made  some  soap-bub 
bles  that  astonished  the  world." 


The  Wizard  blushed  at  this  praise,  yet  it  pleased  him. 
He  no  longer  looked  sad,  but  seemed  to  have  recovered  his 
usual  good  humor. 

The  country  through  which  they  now  rode  was  thickly 
dotted  with  farmhouses,  and  yellow  grain  waved  in  all  the 
fields.  Many  of  the  Winkles  could  be  seen  working  on  their 

•245 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

farms  and  the  wild  and  unsettled  parts  of  Oz  were  by  this 
time  left  far  behind. 

These  Winkies  appeared  to  be  happy,  light-hearted  folk, 
and  all  removed  their  caps  and  bowed  low  when  the  red 
wagon  with  its  load  of  travelers  passed  by. 

It  was  not  long  before  they  saw  something  glittering  in 
the  sunshine  far  ahead. 

"See!"  cried  Dorothy;  "that 's  the  Tin  Castle,  Aunt  Em!" 

And  the  Sawhorse,  knowing  his  passengers  were  eager  to 
arrive,  broke  into  a  swift  trot  that  soon  brought  them  to  their 
destination. 


246 


THE  Tin  Woodman  received  Princess  Dorothy's  party  with 
much  grace  and  cordiality,  yet  the  little  girl  decided  that 
something  must  be  worrying  her  old  friend,  because  'he  was 
not  so  merry  as  usual. 

But  at  first  she  said  nothing  about  this,  for  Uncle  Henry 
and  Aunt  Em  were  fairly  bubbling  over  with  admiration  for 
the  beautiful  tin  castle  and  its  polished  tin  owner.  So  her 
suspicion  that  something  unpleasant  had  happened  was  for 
a  time  forgotten. 

" Where  is  the  Scarecrow?"  she  asked,  when  they  had  all 
been  ushered  into  the  big  tin  drawing-room  of  the  castle,  the 
Sawhorse  being  led  around  to  the  tin  stable  in  the  rear. 

"Why,  our  old  friend  has  just  moved  into  his  new  man 
sion,"  explained  the  Tin  Woodman.  "It  has  been  a  long 
time  in  building,  although  my  Winkies  and  many  other  peo- 

247 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

pie  from  all  parts  of  the  country  have  been  busily  working 
upon  it.  At  last,  however,  it  is  completed,  and  the  Scare 
crow  took  possession  of  his  new  home  just  two  days  ago." 

"I  had  n't  heard  that  he  wanted  a  home  of  his  own,"  said 
Dorothy.  "Why  does  n't  he  live  with  Ozma  in  the  Emerald 
City?  He  used  to,  you  know;  and  I  thought  he  was  happy 
there." 

"It  seems,"  said  the  Tin  Woodman,  "that  our  dear  Scare 
crow  cannot  be  contented  with  city  life,  however  beautiful 
his  surroundings  might  be.  Originally  he  was  a  farmer,  for 
he  passed  his  early  life  in  a  cornfield,  where  he  was  supposed 
to  frighten  away  the  crows." 

"I  know,"  said  Dorothy,  nodding.  "I  found  him,  and 
lifted  him  down  from  his  pole." 

"So  now,  after  a  long  residence  in  the  Emerald  City,  his 
tastes  have  turned  to  farm  life  again,"  continued  the  Tin 
Man.  "He  feels  that  he  cannot  be  happy  without  a  farm  of 
his  own,  so  Ozma  gave  him  some  land  and  every  one  helped 
him  build  his  mansion,  and  now  he  is  settled  there  for  good," 

"Who  designed  his  house?"  asked  the  Shaggy  Man. 

*"I  believe  it  was  Jack  Pumpkinhead,  who  is  also  a  far 
mer,"  was  the  reply. 

They  were  now  invited  to  enter  the  tin  dining  room, 
where  luncheon  was  served. 

Aunt  Em  found,  to  her  satisfaction,  that  Dorothy's  prom- 

248 


Chapter  Twenty -Four 

ise  was  more  than  fulfilled ;  for,  although  the  Tin  Woodman 
had  no  appetite  of  his  own,  he  respected  the  appetites  of  his 
guests  and  saw  that  they  were  bountifully  fed. 

They  passed  the  afternoon  in  wandering  through  the 
beautiful  gardens  and  grounds  of  the  palace.  The  walks  were 
all  paved  with  sheets  of  tin,  brightly  polished,  and  there  were 
tin  fountains  and  tin  statues  here  and  there  among  the  trees. 
The  flowers  were  mostly  natural  flowers  and  grew  in  the 
regular  way;  but  their  host  showed  them  one  flower  bed 
which  was  his  especial  pride. 

"You  see,  all  common  flowers  fade  and  die  in  time,"  he 
explained,  "and  so  there  are  seasons  when  the  pretty  blooms 
are  scarce.  Therefore  I  decided  to  make  one  tin  flower  bed  all 
of  tin  flowers,  and  my  workmen  have  created  them  with  rare 
skill.  Here  you  see  tin  camelias,  tin  marigolds,  tin  carnations, 
tin  poppies  and  tin  hollyhocks  growing  as  naturally  as  if 
they  were  real." 

Indeed,  they  were  a  pretty  sight,  and  glistened  under  the 
sunlight  like  spun  silver. 

"Is  n't  this  tin  hollyhock  going  to  seed?"  asked  the  Wiz 
ard,  bending  over  the  flowers. 

"Why,  I  believe  it  is!"  exclaimed  the  Tin  Woodman,  as 
if  surprised.  "I  had  n't  noticed  that  before.  But  I  shall 
plant  the  tin  seeds  and  raise  another  bed  of  tin  hollyhocks." 

In  one  corner  of  the  gardens  Nick  Chopper  had  established 

249 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

a  fish-pond,  in  which  they  saw  swimming  and  disporting 
themselves  many  pretty  tin  fishes. 

"Would  they  bite  on  hooks?"  asked  Aunt  Em,  curiously. 

The  Tin  Woodman  seemed  hurt  at  this  question. 

"Madam,"  said  he,  "do  you  suppose  I  would  allow  any 
one  to  catch  my  beautiful  fishes,  even  if  they  were  foolish 
enough  to  bite  on  hooks?  No,  indeed!  Every  created  thing- 
is  safe  from  harm  in  my  domain,  and  I  would  as  soon  think  of 
killing  my  little  friend  Dorothy  as  killing  one  of  my  tin 
fishes." 

"The  Emperor  is  very  kind-hearted,  ma'am,"  explained 
the  Wizard.  "If  a  fly  happens  to  light  upon  his  tin  body  he 
does  n't  rudely  brush  it  off,  as  some  people  might  do;  he  asks 
it  politely  to  find  some  other  resting  place." 

"What  does  the  fly  do  then?"  enquired  Aunt  Em. 

"Usually  it  begs  his  pardon  and  goes  away,"  said  the 
Wizard,  gravely.  "Flies  like  to  be  treated  politely  as  well 
as  other  creatures,  and  here  in  Oz  they  understand  what  we 
say  to  them,  and  behave  very  nicely." 

"Well,"  said  Aunt  Em,  "the  flies  in  Kansas,  where  I  came 
from,  don't  understand  anything  but  a  swat.  You  have  to 
smash  'em  to  make  'em  behave;  and  it  's  the  same  way  with 
'skeeters.  Do  you  have  'skeeters  in  Oz?" 

"We  have  some  very  large  mosquitoes  here,  which  sing 
as  beautifully  as  song  birds,"  replied  the  Tin  Woodman. 

250 


Chapter  Twenty-Four 

"But  they  never  bite  or  annoy  our  people,  because  they  are 
well  fed  and  taken  care  of.  The  reason  they  bite  people  in 
your  country  is  because  they  are  hungry — poor  things!" 

"Yes,"  agreed  Aunt  Em;  "they  're  hungry,  all  right.  An' 
they  ain't  very  particular  who  they  feed  on.  I  'm  glad  you  've 
got  the  'skeeters  educated  in  Oz." 

That  evening  after  dinner  they  were  entertained  by  the 
Emperor's  Tin  Cornet  Band,  which  played  for  them  several 
sweet  melodies.  Also  the  Wizard  did  a  few  sleight-of-hand 
tricks  to  amuse  the  company;  after  which  they  all  retired  to 
their  cosy  tin  bedrooms  and  slept  soundly  until  morning. 

After  breakfast  Dorothy  said  to  the  Tin  Woodman  : 

"If  you  '11  tell  us  which  way  to  go  we  '11  visit  the  Scare 
crow  on  our  way  home." 

"I  will  go  with  you,  and  show  you  the  way/'  replied  the 
Emperor;  "for  I  must  journey  to-day  to  the  Emerald  City." 

He  looked  so  anxious,  as  he  said  this,  that  the  little  girl 
asked : 

"There  is  n't  anything  wrong  with  Ozma,  is  there?" 

He  shook  his  tin  head. 

"Not  yet,"  said  he;  "but  I  'm  afraid  the  time  has  come 
when  I  must  tell  you  some  very  bad  news,  little  friend." 

"Oh,  what  is  it?"  cried  Dorothy. 

"Do  you  remember  the  Nome  King?"  asked  the  Tin 
Woodman. 

251 


The   Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"I  remember  him  very  well,"  she  replied. 

"The  Nome  King  has  not  a  kind  heart,"  said  the  Em 
peror,  sadly,  "and  he  has  been  harboring  wicked  thoughts  of 
revenge,  because  we  once  defeated  him  and  liberated  his 
slaves  and  you  took  away  his  Magic  Belt.  So  he  has  or 
dered  his  Nomes  to  dig  a  long  tunnel  underneath  the  deadly 
desert,  so  that  he  may  march  his  hosts  right  into  the  Emerald 
City.  When  he  gets  there  he  intends  to  destroy  our  beauti 
ful  country." 

Dorothy  was  much  surprised  to  hear  this. 

"How  did  Ozma  find  out  about  the  tunnel?"  she  asked. 

"She  saw  it  in  her  Magic  Picture." 

"Of  course,"  said  Dorothy;  "I  might  have  known  that. 
And  what  is  she  going  to  do?" 

"I  cannot  tell,"  was  the  reply. 

"Pooh!"  cried  the  Yellow  Hen.  "We  're  not  afraid  of 
the  Nomes.  If  we  roll  a  few  of  our  eggs  down  the  tunnel 
they  '11  run  away  back  home  as  fast  as  they  can  go." 

"Why,  that  's  true  enough!"  exclaimed  Dorothy.  "The 
Scarecrow  once  conquered  all  the  Nome  King's  army  with 
some  of  Billina's  eggs." 

"But  you  do  not  understand  all  of  the  dreadful  plot," 
continued  the  Tin  Woodman.  "The  Nome  King  is  clever, 
and  he  knows  his  Nomes  would  run  from  eggs;  so  he  has  bar 
gained  with  many  terrible  creatures  to  help  him.  These  evil 

252 


Chapter  Twenty-Four 

spirits  are  not  afraid  of  eggs  or  anything  else,  and  they  are 
very  powerful.  So  the  Nome  King  will  send  them  through 
the  tunnel  first,  to  conquer  and  destroy,  and  then  the  Nomes 
will  follow  after  to  get  their  share  of  the  plunder  and  slaves." 

They  were  all  startled  to  hear  this,  and  every  face  wore  a 
troubled  look. 

"Is  the  tunnel  all  ready?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"Ozma  sent  me  word  yesterday  that  the  tunnel  was  all 
completed  except  for  a  thin  crust  of  earth  at  the  end.  When 
our  enemies  break  through  this  crust  they  will  be  in  the  gar 
dens  of  the  royal  palace,  in  the  heart  of  the  Emerald  City.  I 
offered  to  arm  all  my  Winkies  and  march  to  Ozma's  assist 
ance;  but  she  said  no." 

"I  wonder  why?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"She  answered  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  Oz,  gathered 
together,  were  not  powerful  enough  to  fight  and  overcome  the 
evil  forces  of  the  Nome  King.  Therefore  she  refuses  to  fight 
at  all." 

"But  they  will  capture  and  enslave  us,  and  plunder  and 
ruin  all  our  lovely  land!"  exclaimed  the  Wizard,  greatly  dis 
turbed  by  'this  statement. 

"I  fear  they  will,"  said  the  Tin  Woodman,  sorrowfully. 
"And  I  also  fear  that  those  who  are  not  fairies,  such  as  the 
Wizard,  and  Dorothy,  and  her  uncle  and  aunt,  as  well  as 

253 


The  Emerald  Cityof  Oz 

Toto  and  Billina,  will  be  speedily  put  to  death  by  the  con 
querors." 

"What  can  be  done?"  asked  Dorothy,  shuddering  a  lit 
tle  at  the  prospect  of  this  awful  fate. 

"Nothing  can  be  done!"  gloomily  replied  the  Emperor  of 
the  Winkies.  "But  since  Ozma  refuses  my  army  I  will  go 
myself  to  the  Emerald  City.  The  least  I  may  do  is  to  perish 
beside  my  beloved  Ruler." 


254 


THIS  amazing  news  had  saddened  every  heart  and  all  were 
now  anxious  to  return  to  the  Emerald  City  and  share  Ozma's 
fate.  So  they  started  without  loss  of  time,  and  as  the  road 
led  past  the  Scarecrow's  new  mansion  they  determined  to 
make  a  brief  halt  there  and  confer  with  him. 

"The  Scarecrow  is  probably  the  wisest  man  in  all  Oz," 
remarked  the  Tin  Woodman,  when  they  had  started  upon 
their  journey.  "His  brains  are  plentiful  and  of  excellent 
quality,  and  often  he  has  told  me  things  I  might  never  have 
thought  of  myself.  I  must  say  I  rely  a  good  deal  upon  the 
Scarecrow's  brains  in  this  emergency." 

The  Tin  Woodman  rode  on  the  front  seat  of  the  wagon, 
where  Dorothy  sat  between  him  and  the  Wizard. 

"Has  the  Scarecrow  heard  of  Ozma's  trouble?"  asked  the 
•Captain  General. 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"I  do  not  know,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 

"When  I  was  a  private,"  said  Omby  Amby,  "I  was  an  ex 
cellent  army,  as  I  fully  proved  in  our  war  against  the  Nomes. 
But  now  there  is  not  a  single  private  left  in  our  army,  since 
Ozma  made  me  the  Captain  General,  so  there  is  no  one  to 
fight  and  defend  our  lovely  Ruler." 

"True,"  said  the  Wizard.  "The  present  army  is  com 
posed  only  of  officers,  and  the  business  of  an  officer  is  to  order 
his  men  to  fight.  Since  there  are  no  men  there  can  be  no 
fighting." 

"Poor  Ozma!"  whispered  Dorothy,  with  tears  in  her  sweet 
eyes.  "It  's  dreadful  to  think  of  all  her  lovely  fairy  country 
being  destroyed.  I  wonder  if  we  could  n't  manage  to  es 
cape  and  get  back  to  Kansas  by  means  of  the  Magic  Belt? 
And  we  might  take  Ozma  with  us  and  all  work  hard  to  get 
money  for  her,  so  she  would  n't  be  so  very  lonely  and  un 
happy  about  the  loss  of  her  fairyland." 

"Do  you  think  there  would  be  any  work  for  me  in  Kan 
sas?'  asked  the  Tin  Woodman. 

"If  you  are  hollow,  they  might  use  you  in  a  canning  fac 
tory,"  suggested  Uncle  Henry.  "But  I  can't  see  the  use 
of  your  working  for  a  living.  You  never  eat  or  sleep  or  need 
a  new  suit  of  clothes." 

"I  was  not  thinking  of  myself,"  replied  the  Emperor,  with 

256 


Chapter  Twenty-Five 

dignity.  "I  merely  wondered  if  I  could  not  help  to  support 
Dorothy  and  Ozma." 

As  they  indulged  in  these  sad  plans  for  the  future  they 
journeyed  in  sight  of  the  Scarecrow's  new  mansion,  and  even 
though  filled  with  care  and  wrorry  over  the  impending  fate 
of  Oz,  Dorothy  could  not  help  a  feeling  of  wonder  at  the 
sight  she  saw. 

The  Scarecrow's  new  house  was  shaped  like  an  immense 
ear  of  corn.  The  rows  of  kernels  were  made  of  solid  gold, 
and  the  green  upon  which  the  ear  stood  upright  was  a  mass 
of  sparkling  emeralds.  Upon  the  very  top  of  the  structure 
was  perched  a  figure  representing  the  Scarecrow  himself,  and 
upon  his  extended  arms,  as  well  as  upon  his  head,  were  sev 
eral  crows  carved  out  of  ebony  and  having  ruby  eyes.  You 
may  imagine  how  big  this  ear  of  corn  was  when  I  tell  you  that 
a  single  gold  kernal  formed  a  window,  swinging  outward 
upon  hinges,  while  a  row  of  four  kernals  opened  to  make  the 
front  entrance.  Inside  there  were  five  stories,  each  story  be 
ing  a  single  room. 

The  gardens  around  the  mansion  consisted  of  cornfields, 
and  Dorothy  acknowledged  that  the  place  was  in  all  respects 
a  very  appropriate  home  for  her  good  friend  the  Scarecrow. 

"He  would  have  been  very  happy  here,  I  'm  sure,"  she 
said,  "if  only  the  Nome  King  had  left  us  alone.  But  if  Oz 
is  destroyed  of  course  this  place  will  be  destroyed  too." 

257 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Yes,"  replied  the  Tin  Woodman,  "and  also  my  beautiful 
tin  castle,  that  has  been  my  joy  and  pride." 

"Jack  Pumpkinhead's  house  will  go  too,"  remarked  the 
Wizard,  "as  well  as  Professor  Wogglebug's  Athletic  College, 
and  Ozma's  royal  palace,  and  all  our  other  handsome  build 
ings." 

"Yes,  Oz  will  indeed  become  a  desert  when  the  Nome 
King  gets  through  with  it,"  sighed  Omby  Amby. 

The  Scarecrow  came  out  to  meet  them  and  gave  them  all 
a  hearty  welcome. 

"I  hear  you  have  decided  always  to  live  in  the  Land  of 
Oz,  after  this,"  he  said  to  Dorothy;  "and  that  will  delight 
my  heart,  for  I  have  greatly  disliked  our  frequent  partings. 
But  why  are  you  all  so  downcast?" 

"Have  you  heard  the  news?"  asked  the  Tin  Woodman. 

"No  news  to  make  me  sad,"  replied  the  Scarecrow. 
Then  Nick  Chopper  told  his  friend  of  the  Nome  King's 
tunnel,  and  how  the  evil  creatures  of  the  North  had  allied 
themselves  with  the  underground  monarch  for  the  purpose 
of  conquering  and  destroying  Oz.  "Well,"  said  the  Scare 
crow,  "it  certainly  looks  bad  for  Ozma,  and  all  of  us.  But  I 
believe  it  is  wrong  to  worry  over  anything  before  it  happens. 
It  is  surely  time  enough  to  be  sad  when  our  country  is  de- 

258 


Chapter  Twenty -Five 

spoiled  and  our  people  made  slaves.  So  let  us  not  deprive 
ourselves  of  the  few  happy  hours  remaining  to  us." 

"Ah!  that  is  real  wisdom,"  declared  the  Shaggy  Man,  ap 
provingly.  "After  we  become  really  unhappy  we  shall  re 
gret  these  few  hours  that  are  left  to  us,  unless  we  enjoy  them 
to  the  utmost." 

"Nevertheless,"  said  the  Scarecrow,  "I  shall  go  with  you 
to  the  Emerald  City  and  offer  Ozma  my  services." 

"She  says  we  can  do  nothing  to  oppose  our  enemies,"  an 
nounced  the  Tin  Woodman. 

"And  doubtless  she  is  right,  sir,"  answered  the  Scare 
crow.  "Still,  she  will  appreciate  our  sympathy,  and  it  is  the 
duty  of  Ozma's  friends  to  stand  by  her  side  when  the  final 
disaster  occurs." 

He  then  led  them  into  his  queer  mansion  and  showed 
them  the  beautiful  rooms  in  all  the  five  stories.  The  lower 
room  was  a  grand  reception  hall,  with  a  hand-organ  in  one 
corner.  This  instrument  the  Scarecrow,  when  alone,  could 
turn  to  amuse  himself,  as  he  was  very  fond  of  music.  The 
walls  were  hung  with  white  silk,  upon  which  flocks  of  black 
crows  were  embroidered  in  black  diamonds.  Some  of  the 
chairs  were  made  in  the  shape  of  big  crows  and  upholstered 
(vith  cushions  of  corn-colored  silk. 

The  second  story  contained  a  fine  banquet  room,  where 
the  Scarecrow  might  entertain  his  guests,  and  the  three  sto- 

259 


The  Emerald   City  of  Oz 

ries  above  that  were  bed-chambers  exquisitely  furnished  and 
decorated. 

"From  these  rooms,"  said  the  Scarecrow,  proudly,  "one 
may  obtain  fine  views  of  the  surrounding  cornfields.  The 
corn  I  grow  is  always  husky,  and  I  call  the  ears  my  regiments, 
because  they  have  so  many  kernels.  Of  course  I  cannot  ride 
my  cobs,  but  I  really  don't  care  shucks  about  that.  Taken 
altogether,  my  farm  will  stack  up  with  any  in  the  neighbor 
hood." 

The  visitors  partook  of  some  light  refreshment  and  then 
hurried  away  to  resume  the  road  to  the  Emerald  City.  The 
Scarecrow  found  a  seat  in  the  wagon  between  Omby  Amby 
and  the  Shaggy  Man,  and  his  weight  did  not  add  much  to 
the  load  because  he  was  stuffed  with  straw. 

"You  will  notice  I  have  one  oat-field  on  my  property," 
he  remarked,  as  they  drove  away.  "Oat-straw  is,  I  have 
found,  the  best  of  all  straws  to  re-stuff  myself  with  when  my 
interior  gets  musty  or  out  of  shape." 

"Are  you  able  to  re-stuff  youreslf  without  help?"  asked 
Aunt  Em.  "I  should  think  that  after  the  straw  was  taken 
out  of  you  there  would  n't  be  anything  left  but  your  clothes." 

"You  are  almost  correct,  madam,"  he  answered.  "My 
servants  do  the  stuffing,  under  my  direction.  For  my  head, 
in  which  are  my  excellent  brains,  is  a  bag  tied  at  the  bottom. 
My  face  is  neatly  painted  upon  one  side  of  the  bag,  as  you 

260 


Chapter  Twenty-Five 

may  see.  My  head  does  not  need  re-stuffing,  as  my  body  does, 
for  all  that  it  requires  is  to  have  the  face  touched  up  with 
fresh  paint  occasionally." 

It  was  not  far  from  the  Scarecrow's  mansion  to  the  farm 
of  Jack  Pumpkinhead,  and  when  they  arived  there  both  Un 
cle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  were  much  impressed.  The  farm  was 
one  vast  pumpkin  field,  and  some  of  the  pumpkins  were  of 


enormous  size.  In  one  of  them,  which  had  been  neatly  hol 
lowed  out,  Jack  himself  lived,  and  he  declared  that  it  was  a 
very  comfortable  residence.  The  reason  he  grew  so  many 
pumpkins  was  in  order  that  he  might  change  his  head  as  often 
as  it  became  wrinkled  or  threatened  to  spoil. 

The  pumpkin-headed  man  welcomed  his  visitors  joyfully 
and  offered  them  several  delicious  pumpkin  pies  to  eat. 

261 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"I  don't  indulge  in  pumpkin  pies  myself,  for  two  rea 
sons,"  he  said.  "One  reason  is  that  were  I  to  eat  pumpkins 
I  would  become  a  cannibal,  and  the  other  reason  is  that  I 
never  eat,  not  being  hollow  inside." 

"Very  good  reasons,"  agreed  the  Scarecrow. 

They  told  Jack  Pumpkinhead  the  dreadful  news  about  the 
Nome  King,  and  he  decided  to  go  with  them  to  the  Emerald 
City  and  help  comfort  Ozma. 

"I  had  expected  to  live  here  in  ease  and  comfort  for  many 
centuries,"  said  Jack,  dolefully;  "but  of  course  if  the  Nome 
King  destroys  everything  in  Oz  I  shall  be  destroyed  too. 
Really,  it  seems  too  bad,  does  n't  it?" 

They  were  soon  on  their  journey  again,  and  so  swiftly 
did  the  Sawhorse  draw  the  wagon  over  the  smooth  roads  that 
before  twilight  fell  that  had  reached  the  royal  palace  in  the 
Emerald  City,  and  were  at  their  journey's  end. 


262 


OZMA  was  in  her  rose  garden  picking  a  bouquet  when  the 
party  arrived,  and  she  greeted  all  her  old  and  new  friends 
as  smilingly  and  sweetly  as  ever. 

Dorothy's  eyes  were  full  of  tears  as  she  kissed  the  lovely 
Ruler  of  Oz,  and  she  whispered  to  her: 

"Oh,  Ozma,  Ozma!    I  'm  so  sorry!" 

Ozma  seemed  surprised. 

"Sorry  for  what,  Dorothy4?"  she  asked. 

"For  all  your  trouble  about  the  Nome  King,"  was  the 
reply. 

Ozma  laughed  with  genuine  amusement. 

"Why,  that  has  not  troubled  me  a  bit,  dear  Princess,"  she 
replied.  Then,  looking  around  at  the  sad  faces  of  her  friends, 
she  added :  "Have  you  all  been  worrying  about  this  tunnel?" 

"We  have!"  they  exclaimed  in  a  chorus. 

263 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"Well,  perhaps  it  is  more  serious  than  I  imagined,"  ad 
mitted  the  fair  Ruler;  "but  I  have  n't  given  the  matter  much 
thought.  After  dinner  we  will  all  meet  together  and  talk  it 
over." 

So  they  went  to  their  rooms  and  prepared  for  dinner,  and 
Dorothy  dressed  herself  in  her  prettiest  gown  and  put  on  her 
coronet,  for  she  thought  that  this  might  be  the  last  time  she 
would  ever  appear  as  a  Princess  of  Oz. 

The  Scarecrow,  the  Tin  Woodman  and  Jack  Pumpkin- 
head  all  sat  at  the  dinner  table,  although  none  of  them  was 
made  so  he  could  eat.  Usually  they  served  to  enliven  the 
meal  with  their  merry  talk,  but  to-night  all  seemed  strangely 
silent  and  uneasy. 

As  soon  as  the  dinner  was  finished  Ozma  led  the  com 
pany  to  her  own  private  room  in  which  hung  the  Magic  Pic 
ture.  When  they  had  seated  themselves  the  Scarecrow  was 
the  first  to  speak. 

"Is  the  Nome  King's  tunnel  finished,  Ozma?"  he  asked. 

"It  was  completed  to-day,"  she  replied.  "They  have  built 
it  right  under  my  palace  grounds,  and  it  ends  in  front  of 
the  Forbidden  Fountain.  Nothing  but  a  crust  of  earth  re 
mains  to  separate  our  enemies  from  us,  and  when  they  march 
here  they  will  easily  break  through  this  crust  and  rush  upon 


us." 


"Who  will  assist  the  Nome  King?"  inquired  the  Scare 
crow. 

264 


Chapter  Twenty-Six 

"The  Whimsies,  the  Growleywogs  and  the  Phanfasms," 
she  replied.  "I  watched  to-day  in  my  Magic  Picture  the  mes 
sengers  whom  the  Nome  King  sent  to  all  these  people  to  sum 
mon  them  to  assemble  in  his  great  caverns." 

"Let  us  see  what  they  are  doing  now,"  suggested  the  Tin 
Woodman. 

So  Ozma  wished  to  see  the  Nome  King's  cavern,  and  at 
once  the  landscape  faded  from  the  Magic  Picture  and  was 
replaced  by  the  scene  then  being  enacted  in  the  jeweled  cav 
ern  of  King  Roquat. 

A  wild  and  startling  scene  it  was  which  the  Oz  people  be 
held. 

Before  the  Nome  King  stood  the  Chief  of  the  Whimsies 
and  the  Grand  Gallipoot  of  the  Groweywogs,  surrounded 
by  their  most  skillful  generals.  Very  fierce  and  powerful 
they  looked,  so  that  even  the  Nome  King  and  General  Guph, 
who  stood  beside  his  master,  seemed  a  bit  fearful  in  the 
presence  of  their  allies. 

Now  a  still  more  formidable  creature  entered  the  cavern. 
It  was  the  First  and  Foremost  of  the  Phanfasms  and  he 
proudly  sat  down  in  King  Roquat' s  own  throne  and  de 
manded  the  right  to  lead  his  forces  through  the  tunnel  in  ad 
vance  of  all  the  others.  The  First  and  Foremost  now  ap 
peared  to  all  eyes  in  his  hairy  skin  and  the  bear's  head.  What 
his  real  form  was  even  Roquat  did  not  know. 

265 


The   Emerald  City  of  Oz 

Through  the  arches  leading  into  the  vast  series  of  cav 
erns  that  lay  beyond  the  throne  room  of  King  Roquat,  could 
be  seen  ranks  upon  ranks  of  the  invaders — thousands  of 
Phanfasms,  Growleywogs  and  Whimsies  standing  in  serried 
lines,  while  behind  them  were  massed  the  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  General  Guph's  own  army  of  Nomes. 

"Listen!"  whispered  Ozma.  "I  think  we  can  hear  what 
they  are  saying." 

So  they  kept  still  and  listened. 

"Is  all  ready?"  demanded  the.  First  and  Foremost, 
haughtily. 

"The  tunnel  is  finally  completed,"  replied  General  Guph. 

"How  long  will  it  take  us  to  march  to  the  Emerald  City?" 
asked  the  Grand  Gallipoot  of  the  Growleywogs. 

"If  we  start  at  midnight,"  replied  the  Nome  King,  "we 
shall  arrive  at  the  Emerald  City  by  daybreak.  Then,  while 
all  the  Oz  people  are  sleeping,  we  will  capture  them  and 
make  them  our  slaves.  After  that  we  will  destroy  the  city 
itself  and  march  through  the  Land  of  Oz,  burning  and  de 
vastating  as  we  go." 

"Good!"  cried  the  First  and  Foremost.  "When  we  get 
through  with  Oz  it  will  be  a  desert  wilderness.  Ozma  shall 
be  my  slave." 

"She  shall  be  my  slave!"  shouted  the  Grand  Gallipoot, 
angrily. 

266 


Chapter  Twenty-Six 

"We  '11  decide  that  by  and  by,"  said  King  Roquat,  hast 
ily.  "Don't  let  us  quarrel  now,  friends.  First  let  us  conquer 
,Oz,  and  then  we  will  divide  the  spoils  of  war  in  a  satisfac 
tory  manner." 

The  First  and  Foremost  smiled  wickedly;  but  he  only 
said : 

"I  and  my  Phanfasms  go  first,  for  nothing  on  earth  can 
oppose  our  power." 

They  all  agreed  to  that,  knowing  the  Phanfasms  to  be  the 
mightiest  of  the  combined  forces.  King  Roquat  now  in 
vited  them  to  attend  a  banquet  he  had  prepared,  where  they 
might  occupy  themselves  in  eating  and  drinking  until  mid 
night  arrived. 

As  they  had  now  seen  and  heard  all  of  the  plot  against 
them  that  they  cared  to,  Ozma  allowed  her  Magic  Picture 
to  fade  away.  Then  she  turned  to  her  friends  and  said  : 

"Our  enemies  will  be  here  sooner  than  I  expected.  What 
do  you  advise  me  to  do?" 

"It  is  now  too  late  to  assemble  our  people,"  said  the  Tin 
Woodman,  despondently.  "If  you  had  allowed  me  to  arm 
and  drill  my  Winkies  we  might  have  put  up  a  good  fight 
and  destroyed  many  of  our  enemies  before  we  were  con 
quered." 

"The  Munchkins  are  good  fighters,  too,"  said  Omby 
Amby;  "and  so  are  the  Gillikins." 

267 


TheEmerald  City   of  Oz 

"But  I  do  not  wish  to  fight,"  declared  Ozma,  firmly.  "No 
one  has  the  right  to  destroy  any  living  creatures,  however  evil 
they  may  be,  or  to  hurt  them  or  make  them  unhappy.  I  will 
not  fight — even  to  save  my  kingdom." 

"The  Nome  King  is  not  so  particular,"  remarked  the 
Scarecrow.  "He  intends  to  destroy  us  all  and  ruin  our  beau 
tiful  country." 

"Because  the  Nome  King  intends  to  do  evil  is  no  excuse 
for  my  doing  the  same,"  replied  Ozma. 

"Self-preservation  is  the  first  law  of  nature,"  quoted  the 
Shaggy  Man. 

"True,"  she  said,  readily.  "I  would  like  to  discover  a 
plan  to  save  ourselves  without  fighting." 

That  seemed  a  hopeless  task  to  them,  but  realizing  that 
Ozma  was  determined  not  to  fight,  they  tried  to  think  of 
some  means  that  might  promise  escape. 

"Could  n't  we  bribe  our  enemies,  by  giving  them  a  lot 
of  emeralds  and  gold?"  asked  Jack  Pumpkinhead. 

"No,  because  they  believe  they  are  able  to  take  every 
thing  we  have,"  replied  the  Ruler. 

"I  have  thought  of  something,"  said  Dorothy. 

"What  is  it,  dear?"  asked  Ozma. 

"Let  us  use  the  Magic  Belt  to  wish  all  of  us  in  Kansas. 
We  will  put  some  emeralds  in  our  pockets,  and  can  sell  them 

268 


Chapter  Twenty-Six 

in  Topeka  for  enough  to  pay  off  the  mortgage  on  Uncle  Hen 
ry's  farm.  Then  we  can  all  live  together  and  be  happy." 

"A  clever  idea!"  exclaimed  the  Scarecrow. 

"Kansas  is  a  very  good  country.  I  've  been  there,"  said 
the  Shaggy  Man. 

'That  seems  to  me  an  excellent  plan,"  approved  the  Tin 
Woodman. 

"No!"  said  Ozma,  decidedly.  "Never  will  I  desert  my 
people  and  leave  them  to  so  cruel  a  fate.  I  will  use  the 
Magic  Belt  to  send  the  rest  of  you  to  Kansas,  if  you  wish, 
but  if  my  beloved  country  must  be  destroyed  and  my  people 
enslaved  I  will  remain  and  share  their  fate." 

"Quite  right,"  asserted  the  Scarecrow,  sighing.  "I  will 
remain  with  you." 

"And  so  will  I,"  declared  the  Tin  Woodman  and  the 
Shaggy  Man  and  Jack  Pumpkinhead,  in  turn.  Tiktok,  the 
machine  man,  also  said  he  intended  to  stand  by  Ozma.  "For," 
said  he,  "I  should  be  of  no  use  at  all  in  Kansas." 

"For  my  part,"  announced  Dorothy,  gravely,  "if  the 
Ruler  of  Oz  must  not  desert  her  people,  a  Princess  of  Oz  has 
no  right  to  run  away,  either.  I  'm  willing  to  become  a  slave 
with  the  rest  of  you ;  so  all  we  can  do  with  the  Magic  Belt  is 
to  use  it  to  send  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em  back  to  Kan 


sas." 


1  've  been  a  slave  all  my  life,"  Aunt  Em  replied,  with 

269 


The  Emerald  City  of    Oz 

considerable  cheerfulness,  "and  so  has  Henry.  I  guess  we 
won't  go  back  to  Kansas,  anyway.  I  'd  rather  take  my 
chances  with  the  rest  of  you." 

Ozma  smiled  upon  them  all  gratefully. 

"There  is  no  need  to  despair  just  yet,"  she  said.  "I  '11  get 
up  early  to-morrow  morning  and  be  at  the  Forbidden  Foun 
tain  when  the  fierce  warriors  break  through  the  crust  of  earth. 
I  will  speak  to  them  pleasantly  and  perhaps  they  won't  be  so 
very  bad,  after  all." 

"Why  do  they  call*  it  the  Forbidden  Fountain?"  asked 
Dorothy,  thoughtfully. 

"Don't  you  know,  dear?"  returned  Ozma,  surprised. 

"No,"  said  Dorothy.  "Of  course  I  've  seen  the  foun 
tain  in  the  palace  grounds,  ever  since  I  first  came  to  Oz; 
and  I  've  read  the  sign  which  says :  'All  Persons  are  Forbidden 
to  Drink  at  this  Fountain.'  But  I  never  knew  why  they  were 
forbidden.  The  water  seems  clear  and  sparkling  and  it  bub 
bles  up  in  a  golden  basin  all  the  time." 

"That  water,"  declared  Ozma,  gravely,  "is  the  most  dan 
gerous  thing  in  all  the  Land  of  Oz.  It  is  the  Water  of  Ob 
livion." 

"What  does  that  mean?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"Whoever  drinks  at  the  Forbidden  Fountain  at  once  for 
gets  everything  he  has  ever  known,"  Ozma  asserted. 

"It  would  n't  be  a  bad  way  to  forget  our  troubles,"  sug 
gested  Uncle  Henry. 

270 


Chapter  Twenty-Six 

"That  is  true;  but  you  would  forget  everything  else,  and 
become  as  ignorant  as  a  baby,"  returned  Ozma. 

"Does  it  make  one  crazy?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"No;  it  only  makes  one  forget,"  replied  the  girl  Ruler. 
"It  is  said  that  once — long,  long  ago — a  wicked  King  ruled 


Oz,  and  made  himself  and  all  his  people  very  miserable  and 
unhappy.  So  Glinda,  the  Good  Sorceress,  placed  this  foun 
tain  here,  and  the  King  drank  of  its  water  and  forgot  all  his 
wickedness.  His  mind  became  innocent  and  vacant,  and 
when  he  learned  the  things  of  life  again  they  were  all  good 
things.  But  the  people  remembered  how  wicked  their  King 

271 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

had  been,  and  were  still  afraid  of  him.  Therefore  he  made 
them  all  drink  of  the  Water  of  Oblivion  and  forget  every 
thing  they  had  known,  so  that  they  became  as  simple  and  in 
nocent  as  their  King.  After  that  they  all  grew  wise  together, 
and  their  wisdom  was  good,  so  that  peace  and  happiness 
reigned  in  the  land.  But  for  fear  some  one  might  drink  of 
the  water  again,  and  in  an  instant  forget  all  he  had  learned, 
the  King  put  that  sign  upon  the  fountain,  where  it  has  re 
mained  for  many  centuries  up  to  this  very  day." 

They  had  all  listened  intently  to  Ozma's  story,  and  when 
she  finished  speaking  there  was  a  long  period  of  silence  while 
all  thought  upon  the  curious  magical  power  of  the  Water  of 
Oblivion. 

Finally  the  Scarecrow's  painted  face  took  on  a  broad 
smile  that  stretched  the  cloth  as  far  as  it  would  go. 

"How  thankful  I  am,"  he  said,  "that  I  have  such  an  ex 
cellent  assortment  of  brains!" 

"I  gave  you  the  best  brains  I  ever  mixed,"  declared  the 
Wizard,  with  an  air  of  pride. 

"You  did,  indeed!"  agreed  the  Scarecrow,  "and  they 
work  so  splendidly  that  they  have  found  a  way  to  save  Oz — 
to  save  us  all!" 

"I  'm  glad  to  hear  that,"  said  the  Wizard.  "We  never 
needed  saving  more  than  we  do  just  now." 

"Do  you  mean  to  say  you  can  save  us  from  those  awful 

272 


Chapter  Twenty-Six 

Phanfasms,  and  Growleywogs  and  Whimsies?"  asked  Dor 
othy  eagerly. 

"I  5m  sure  of  it,  my  dear,"  asserted  the  Scarecrow,  still 
smiling  genially. 

"Tell  us  how!"  cried  the  Tin  Woodman. 


"Not  now,"  said  the  Scarecrow.  "You  may  all  go  to  bed, 
and  I  advise  you  to  forget  your  worries  just  as  completely  as 
if  you  had  drunk  of  the  Water  of  Oblivion  in  the  Forbidden 
Fountain.  I  'm  going  to  stay  here  and  tell  my  plan  to  Ozma 
alone,  but  if  you  will  all  be  at  the  Forbidden  Fountain  at 
daybreak,  you  '11  see  how  easily  we  will  save  the  kingdom 

273 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

when  our  enemies  break  through  the  crust  of  earth  and  come 
from  the  tunnel." 

So  they  went  away  and  left  the  Scarecrow  and  Ozma 
alone ;  but  Dorothy  could  not  sleep  a  wink  all  night. 

"He  is  only  a  Scarecrow,"  she  said  to  herself,  "and  I  'm 
not  sure  that  his  mixed  brains  are  as  clever  as  he  thinks  they 


are. 


But  she  knew  that  if  the  Scarecrow's  plan  failed  they 
were  all  lost;  so  she  tried  to  have  faith  in  him. 


274 


THE  Nome  King  and  his  terrible  allies  sat  at  the  banquet 
table  until  midnight.  There  was  much  quarreling  between 
the  Growleywogs  and  Phanf asms,  and  one  of  the  wee-headed 
Whimsies  got  angry  at  General  Guph  and  choked  him  until 
he  nearly  stopped  breathing.  Yet  no  one  was  seriously  hurt, 
and  the  Nome  King  felt  much  relieved  when  the  clock  struck 
twelve  and  they  all  sprang  up  and  seized  their  weapons. 

"Aha!"  shouted  the  First  and  Foremost.  "Now  to  con 
quer  the  Land  of  Oz!" 

He  marshaled  his  Phanfasms  in  battle  array  and  at  his 
word  of  command  they  marched  into  the  tunnel  and  began 
the  long  journey  through  it  to  the  Emerald  City.  The  First 
and  Foremost  intended  to  take  all  the  treasures  in  Oz  for 
himself;  to  kill  all  who  could  be  killed  and  enslave  the  rest; 
to  destroy  and  lay  waste  the  whole  country,  and  afterward 

275 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

to  conquer  and  enslave  the  Nomes,  the  Growleywogs  and  the 
Whimsies.  And  he  knew  his  power  was  sufficient  to  enable 
him  to  do  all  these  things  easily. 

Next  marched  into  the  tunnel  the  army  of  gigantic  Grow 
leywogs,  with  their  Grand  Gallipoot  at  their  head.  They 
were  dreadful  beings,  indeed,  and  longed  to  get  to  Oz  that 
they  might  begin  to  pilfer  and  destroy.  The  Grand  Galli 
poot  was  a  little  afraid  of  the  First  and  Foremost,  but  had  a 
cunning  plan  to  murder  or  destroy  that  powerful  being  and 
secure  the  wealth  of  Oz  for  himself.  Mighty  little  of  the 
plunder  would  the  Nome  King  get,  thought  the  Grand 
Gallipoot. 

The  Chief  of  the  Whimsies  now  marched  his  false-headed 
forces  into  the  tunnel.  In  his  wicked  little  head  was  a  plot 
to  destroy  both  the  First  and  Foremost  and  the  Grand  Galli 
poot.  He  intended  to  let  them  conquer  Oz,  since  they  in 
sisted  on  going  first;  but  he  would  afterward  treacherously 
destroy  them,  as  well  as  King  Roquat,  and  keep  all  the  slaves 
and  treasure  of  Ozma's  kingdom  for  himself. 

After  all  his  dangerous  allies  had  marched  into  the  tunnel 
the  Nome  King  and  General  Guph  started  to  follow  them, 
at  the  head  of  fifty  thousand  Nomes,  all  fully  armed. 

"Guph,"  said  the  King,  "those  creatures  ahead  of  us  mean 
mischief.  They  intend  to  get  everything  for  themselves  and 
leave  us  nothing." 

276 


Chapter  Twenty-Seven 

"I  know,"  replied  the  General;  "but  they  are  not  as  clever 
as  they  think  they  are.  When  you  get  the  Magic  Belt  you 
must  at  once  wish  the  Whimsies  and  Growleywogs  and  Phan- 
fasms  all  back  into  their  own  countries — and  the  Belt  will 
surely  take  them  there." 


"Good!"  cried  the  King.  "An  excellent  plan,  Guph.  I'll 
do  it.  While  they  are  conquering  Oz  I  '11  get  the  Magic  Belt, 
and  then  only  the  Nomes  will  remain  to  ravage  the  country." 

So  you  see  there  was  only  one  thing  that  all  were  agreed 
upon — that  Oz  should  be  destroyed. 

On,  on,  on  the  vast  ranks  of  invaders  marched,  filling  the 

277 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

tunnel  from  side  to  side.  With  a  steady  tramp,  tramp,  they 
advanced,  every  step  taking  them  nearer  to  the  beautiful 
Emerald  City. 

"Nothing  can  save  the  Land  of  Oz!"  thought  the  First 
and  Foremost,  scowling  until  his  bear  face  was  as  black  as 
the  tunnel. 

"The  Emerald  City  is  as  good  as  destroyed  already!" 
muttered  the  Grand  Gallipoot,  shaking  his  war  club  fiercely. 

"In  a  few  hours  Oz  will  be  a  desert!"  said  the  Chief  of 
the  Whimsies,  with  an  evil  laugh. 

"My  dear  Guph,"  remarked  the  Nome  King  to  his  Gen 
eral,  "at  last  my  vengeance  upon  Ozma  of  Oz  and  her  peo 
ple  is  about  to  be  accomplished." 

"You  are  right!"  declared  the  General.  "Ozma  is  surely 
lost." 

And  now  the  First  and  Foremost,  who  was  in  advance 
and  nearing  the  Emerald  City,  began  to  cough  and  to  sneeze. 

"This  tunnel  is  terribly  dusty,"  he  growled,  angrily.  "I  '11 
punish  that  Nome  King  for  not  having  it  swept  clean.  My 
throat  and  eyes  are  getting  full  of  dust  and  I  'm  as  thirsty 
as  a  fish!" 

The  Grand  Gallipoot  was  coughing  too,  and  his  throat 
was  parched  and  dry. 

"What  a  dusty  place!"  he  cried.  "I  '11  be  glad  when  we 
reach  Oz,  where  we  can  get  a  drink." 

278 


Chapter  Twenty-Seven 

"Who  has  any  water?"  asked  the  Whimsie  Chief,  gasping 
and  choking.  But  none  of  his  followers  carried  a  drop  of 
water,  so  he  hastened  on  to  get  through  the  dusty  tunnel  to 
the  Land  of  Oz. 

"Where  did  all  this  dust  come  from?"  demanded  General 
Guph,  trying  hard  to  swallow  but  finding  his  throat  so  dry 
he  could  n't. 

"I  don't  know,"  answered  the  Nome  King.  "I  've  been 
in  the  tunnel  every  day  while  it  was  being  built,  but  I  never 
noticed  any  dust  before." 

"Let  's  hurry!"  cried  the  General.  "I  'd  give  half  the 
gold  in  Oz  for  a  drink  of  water." 

The  dust  grew  thicker  and  thicker,  and  the  throats  and 
eyes  and  noses  of  the  invaders  were  filled  with  it.  But  not 
one  halted  or  turned  back.  They  hurried  forward  more  fierce 
and  vengeful  than  ever. 


279 


THE  Scarecrow  had  no  need  to  sleep;  neither  had  the  Tin 
Woodman  or  Tiktok  or  Jack  Pumpkinhead.  So  they  all 
wandered  out  into  the  palace  grounds  and  stood  beside  the 
sparkling  water  of  the  Forbidden  Fountain  until  daybreak. 
During  this  time  they  indulged  in  occasional  conversation. 

"Nothing  could  make  me  forget  what  I  know,"  remarked 
the  Scarecrow,  gazing  into  the  fountain,  "for  I  cannot  drink 
the  Water  of  Oblivion  or  water  of  any  kind.  And  I  am  glad 
that  this  is  so,  for  I  consider  my  wisdom  unexcelled/' 

"You  are  cer-tain-ly-  ve-ry  wise,"  agreed  Tiktok.  "For 
my  part,  I  can  on-ly  think  by  ma-chin-er-y,.so  I  do  not  pre 
tend  to  know  as  much  as  you  do." 

"My  tin  brains  are  very  bright,  but  that  is  all  I  claim  for 
them,"  said  Nick  Chopper,  modestly,  "Yet  I  do  not  aspire 

280 


Chapter  Twenty-Eight 

to  being  very  wise,  for  I  have  noticed  that  the  happiest  peo 
ple  are  those  who  do  not  let  their  brains  oppress  them." 

"Mine  never  worry  me,"  Jack  Pumpkinhead  acknowl 
edged.  "There  are  many  seeds  of  thought  in  my  head,  but 
they  do  not  sprout  easily.  I  am  glad  that  it  is  so,  for  if  I  oc 
cupied  my  days  in  thinking  I  should  have  no  time  for  any 
thing  else." 

In  this  cheery  mood  they  passed  the  hours  until  the  first 
golden  streaks  of  dawn  appeared  in  the  sky.  Then  Ozma 
joined  them,  as  fresh  and  lovely  as  ever  and  robed  in  one  of 
her  prettiest  gowns. 

"Our  enemies  have  not  yet  arrived,"  said  the  Scarecrow, 
after  greeting  affectionately  the  sweet  and  girlish  Ruler. 

"They  will  soon  be  here,"  she  said,  "for  I  have  just 
glanced  at  my  Magic  Picture,  and  have  seen  them  coughing 
and  choking  with  the  dust  in  the  tunnel." 

"Oh,  is  there  dust  in  the  tunnel?"  asked  the  Tin  Wood 
man. 

"Yes;  Ozma  placed  it  there  by  means  of  the  Magic  Belt," 
explained  the  Scarecrow,  with  one  of  his  broad  smiles. 

Then  Dorothy  came  to  them,  Uncle  Henry  and  Aunt  Em 
following  close  after  her.  The  little  girl's  eyes  were  heavy 
because  she  had  had  a  sleepless  and  anxious  night.  Toto 
walked  by  her  side,  but  the  little  dog's  spirits  were  very  much 
subdued.  Billina,  who  was  always  up  by  daybreak,  was  not 
lo  ig  :a  joining  the  group  by  the  fountain. 

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The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

The  Wizard  and  the  Shaggy  Man  next  arrived,  and  soon 
after  appeared  Omby  Amby,  dressed  in  his  best  uniform. 

"There  lies  the  tunnel,"  said  Ozma,  pointing  to  a  part 
of  the  ground  just  before  the  Forbidden  Fountain,  "and  in  a 
few  moments  the  dreadful  invaders  will  break  through  the 
earth  and  swarm  over  the  land.  Let  us  all  stand  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Fountain  and  watch  to  see  what  happens." 

At  once  they  followed  her  suggestion  and  moved  around 
the  fountain  of  the  Water  of  Oblivion.  There  they  stood 
silent  and  expectant  until  the  earth  beyond  gave  way  with  a 
sudden  crash  and  up  leaped  the  powerful  form  of  the  First 
and  Foremost,  followed  by  all  his  grim  warriors. 

As  the  leader  sprang  forward  his  gleaming  eyes  caught 
the  play  of  the  fountain  and  he  rushed  toward  it  and  drank 
eagerly  of  the  sparkling  water.  Many  of  the  other  Phan- 
fasms  drank,  too,  in  order  to  clear  their  dry  and  dusty  throats. 
Then  they  stood  around  and  looked  at  one  another  with  sim 
ple,  wondering  smiles. 

The  First  and  Foremost  saw  Ozma  and  her  companions 
beyond  the  fountain,  but  instead  of  making  an  effort  to  cap 
ture  her  he  merely  stared  at  her  in  pleased  admiration  of  her 
beauty — for  he  had  forgotten  where  he  was  and  why  he  had 
come  there. 

But  now  the  Grand  Gallipoot  arrived,  rushing  from  the 

282 


Chapter  Twenty -Eight 

tunnel  with  a  hoarse  cry  of  mingled  rage  and  thirst.  He  too 
saw  the  fountain  and  hastened  to  drink  of  its  forbidden 
waters.  The  other  Growleywogs  were  not  slow  to  follow 
suit,  and  even  before  they  had  finished  drinking  the  Chief  of 
the  Whimsies  and  his  people  came  to  push  them  away,  while 
they  one  and  all  cast  off  their  false  heads  that  they  might 
slake  their  thirst  at  the  fountain. 

When  the  Nome  King  and  General  Guph  arrived  they 
both  made  a  dash  to  drink,  but  the  General  was  so  mad  with 
thirst  that  he  knocked  his  King  over,  and  while  Roquat  lay 
sprawling  upon  the  ground  the  General  drank  heartily  of 
the  Water  of  Oblivion. 

This  rude  act  of  his  General  made  the  Nome  King  so 
angry  that  for  a  moment  he  forgot  he  was  thirsty  and  rose  to 
his  feet  to  glare  upon  the  group  of  terrible  warriors  he  had 
brought  here  to  assist  him.  He  saw  Ozma  and  her  people, 
too,  and  yelled  out : 

"Why  don't  you  capture  them?  Why  don't  you  conquer 
Oz,  you  idiots?  Why  do  you  stand  there  like  a  lot  of 
dummies?" 

But  the  great  warriors  had  become  like  little  children. 
They  had  forgotten  all  their  enmity  against  Ozma  and 
against  Oz.  They  had  even  forgotten  who  they  themselves 
were,  or  why  they  were  in  this  strange  and  beautiful  coun- 

283 


The   Emerald  City  of  Oz 

try.  As  for  the  Nome  King,  they  did  not  recognize  him,  and 
wondered  who  he  was. 

The  sun  came  up  and  sent  its  flood  of  silver  rays  to  light 
the  faces  of  the  invaders.  The  frowns  and  scowls  and  evil 
looks  were  all  gone.  Even  the  most  monstrous  of  the  crea 
tures  there  assembled  smiled  innocently  and  seemed  light- 
hearted  and  content  merely  to  be  alive. 

Not  so  with  Roquat,  the  Nome  King.  He  had  not  drunk 
from  the  Forbidden  Fountain  and  all  his  former  rage  against 
Ozma  and  Dorothy  now  inflamed  him  as  fiercely  as  ever.  The 
sight  of  General  Guph  babbling  like  a  happy  child  and  play 
ing  with  his  hands  in  the  cool  waters  of  the  fountain  aston 
ished  and  maddened  Red  Roquat.  Seeing  that  his  terrible 
allies  and  his  own  General  refused  to  act,  the  Nome  King 
turned  to  order  his  great  army  of  Nomes  to  advance  from  the 
tunnel  and  seize  the  helpless  Oz  people. 

But  the  Scarecrow  suspected  what  was  in  the  King's  mind 
and  spoke  a  word  to  the  Tin  Woodman.  Together  they  ran 
at  Roquat  and  grabbing  him  up  tossed  him  into  the  great 
basin  of  the  fountain. 

The  Nome  King's  body  was  round  as  a  ball,  and  it  bobbed 
up  and  down  in  the  Water  of  Oblivion  while  he  spluttered 
and  screamed  with  fear  lest  he  should  drown.  And  when  he 
cried  out  his  mouth  filled  with  water,  which  ran  down  his 

284 


Chapter  Twenty -Eight 

throat,  so  that  straightway  he  forgot  all  he  had  formerly 
known  just  as  completely  as  had  all  the  other  invaders. 

Ozma  and  Dorothy  could  not  refrain  from  laughing  to 
see  their  dreaded  enemies  become  as  harmless  as  babes.  There 
was  no  danger  now  that  Oz  would  be  destroyed.  The  only 
question  remaining  to  solve  was  how  to  get  rid  of  this  horde 
of  intruders. 


The  Shaggy  Man  kindly  pulled  the  Nome  King  out  of 
the  fountain  and  set  him  upon  his  thin  legs.  Roquat  was 
dripping  wet,  but  he  chattered  and  laughed  and  wanted  to 
drink  more  of  the  water.  No  thought  of  injuring  any  per 
son  was  now  in  his  mind. 

285 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

Before  he  left  the  tunnel  he  had  commanded  his  fifty 
thousand  Nomes  to  remain  there  until  he  ordered  them  to 
advance,  as  he  wished  to  give  his  allies  time  to  conquer  Oz 
before  he  appeared  with  his  own  army.  Ozma  did  not  wish 
all  these  Nomes  to  overrun  her  land,  so  she  advanced  to  King 
Roquat  and  taking  his  hand  in  her  own  said  gently : 

"Who  are  you?    What  is  your  name?" 

"I  don't  know,"  he  replied,  smiling  at  her.  "Who  are 
you,  my  dear?" 

"My  name  is  Ozma,"  she  said;  "and  your  name  is 
Roquat." 

"Oh,  is  it?"  he  replied,  seeming  pleased. 

"Yes;  you  are  King  of  the  Nomes,"  she  said. 

"Ah;  I  wonder  what  the  Nomes  are!"  returned  the  King, 
as  if  puzzled. 

"They  are  underground  elves,  and  that  tunnel  over  there 
is  full  of  them/'  she  answered.  "You  have  a  beautiful  cavern 
at  the  other  end  of  the  tunnel,  so  you  must  go  to  your  Nomes 
and  say:  'March  home!'  Then  follow  after  them  and  in 
time  you  will  reach  the  pretty  cavern  where' you  live." 

The  Nome  King  was  much  pleased  to  learn  this,  for  he 
had  forgotten  he  had  a  cavern.  So  he  went  to  the  tunnel  and 
said  to  his  army:  "March  home!"  At  once  the  Nomes  turned 
and  marched  back  through  the  tunnel,  and  the  King  fol 
lowed  after  them,  laughing  with  delight  to  find  his  orders  so 
readily  obeyed. 

286 


Chapter  Twenty-Eight 

The  Wizard  went  to  General  Guph,  who  was  trying  to 
count  his  fingers,  and  told  him  to  follow  the  Nome  King, 
who  was  his  master.     Guph  meekly  obeyed,  and  so  all  the 
,    Nomes  quitted  the  Land  of  Oz  forever. 

But  there  were  still  the  Phanfasms  and  Whimsies  and 


Growleywogs  standing  around  in  groups,  and  they  were  so 
many  that  they  filled  the  gardens  and  trampled  upon  the 
flowers  and  grass  because  they  did  not  know  that  the  tender 
plants  would  be  injured  by  their  clumsy  feet.  But  in  all 
other  respects  they  were  perfectly  harmless  and  played  to- 

287 


The  Emerald   City  of  Oz 

gether  like  children  or  gazed  with  pleasure  upon  the  pretty 
sights  of  the  royal  gardens. 

After  counseling  with  the  Scarecrow  Ozma  sent  Omby 
Amby  to  the  palace  for  the  Magic  Belt,  and  when  the  Cap 
tain  General  returned  with  it  the  Ruler  of  Oz  at  once  clasped 
the  precious  Belt  around  her  waist. 

"I  wish  all  these  strange  people — the  Whimsies  and  the 
Growleywogs  and  the  Phanfasms — safe  back  in  their  own 
homes!"  she  said. 

It  all  happened  in  a  twinkling,  for  of  course  the  wish  was 
no  sooner  spoken  than  it  was  granted. 

All  the  hosts  of  the  invaders  were  gone,  and  only  the 
trampled  grass  showed  that  they  had  ever  been  in  the  Land 
of  Oz. 


288 


"THAT  was  better  than  fighting,"  said  Ozma,  when  all  our 
friends  were  assembled  in  the  palace  after  the  exciting  events 
of  the  morning;  and  each  and  every  one  agreed  with  her. 

"No  one  was  hurt,"  said  the  Wizard,  delightedly. 

"And  no  one  hurt  us,"  added  Aunt  Em. 

"But,  best  of  all,"  said  Dorothy,  "the  wicked  people 
have  all  forgotten  their  wickedness,  and  will  not  wish  to  hurt 
any  one  after  this." 

"True,  Princess,"  declared  the  Shaggy  Man.  "It  seems 
to  me  that  to  have  reformed  all  those  evil  characters  is  more 
important  than  to  have  saved  Oz." 

"Nevertheless,"  remarked  the  Scarecrow,  "I  am  glad  Oz 
is  saved.  I  can  now  go  back  to  my  new  mansion  and  live 
happily," 

289 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

"And  I  am  glad  and  grateful  that  my  pumpkin  farm  is 
saved,"  said  Jack. 

"For  my  part,"  added  the  Tin  Woodman,  "I  cannot  ex 
press  my  joy  that  my  lovely  tin  castle  is  not  to  be  demolished 
by  wicked  enemies." 

"Still,"  said  Tiktok,  "o-ther  en-e-mies  may  come  to  Oz 
some  day." 

"Why  do  you  allow  your  clock-work  brains  to  interrupt 
our  joy?"  asked  Omby  Amby,  frowning  at  the  machine  man. 

"I  say  what  I  am  wound  up  to  say,"  answered  Tiktok. 

"And  you  are  right,"  declared  Ozma.  "I  myself  have 
been  thinking  of  this  very  idea,  and  it  seems  to  me  there  are 
entirely  too  many  ways  for  people  to  get  to  the  Land  of  Oz. 
We  used  to  think  the  deadly  desert  that  surrounds  us  was 
enough  protection;  but  that  is  no  longer  the  case.  The  Wiz 
ard  and  Dorothy  have  both  come  here  through  the  air,  and  I 
am  told  the  earth  people  have  invented  airships  that  can  fly 
anywhere  they  wish  them  to  go." 

"Why,  sometimes  they  do,  and  sometimes  they  don't,"  as 
serted  Dorothy. 

"But  in  time  the  airships  may  cause  us  trouble,"  contin 
ued  Ozma,  "for  if  the  earth  folk  learn  how  to  manage  them 
we  would  be  overrun  with  visitors  who  would  ruin  our  lovely, 
secluded  fairyland." 

"That  is  true  enough,"  agreed  the  Wizard. 

290 


Chapter  Twenty-Nine 

"Also  the  desert  fails  to  protect  us  in  other  ways,"  Ozma 
went  on,  thoughtfully.  "Johnny  Dooit  once  made  a  sand- 
boat  that  sailed  across  it,  and  the  Nome  King  made  a  tunnel 
under  it.  So  I  believe  something  ought  to  be  done  to  cut  us 
off  from  the  rest  of  the  world  entirely,  so  that  no  one  in  the 
future  will  ever  be  able  to  intrude  upon  us." 

"How  will  you  do  that?"  asked  the  Scarecrow. 

"I  do  not  know;  but  in  some  way  I  am  sure  it  can  be  ac 
complished.  To-morrow  I  will  make  a  journey  to  the  castle 
of  Glinda  the  Good,  and  ask  her  advice." 

"May  I  go  with  you?"  asked  Dorothy,  eagerly. 

"Of bourse,  my  dear  Princess;  and  also  I  invite  any  of  our 
friends  here  who  would  like  to  undertake  the  journey." 

They  all  declared  they  wished  to  accompany  their  girl 
Ruler,  for  this  was  indeed  an  important  mission,  since  the 
future  of  the  Land  of  Oz  to  a  great  extent  depended  upon  it. 
So  Ozma  gave  orders  to  her  servants  to  prepare  for  the  jour 
ney  on  the  morrow. 

That  day  she  watched  her  Magic  Picture,  and  when  it 
showed  her  that  all  the  Nomes  had  returned  through  the 
tunnel  to  their  underground  caverns,  Ozma  used  the  Magic 
Belt  to  close  up  the  tunnel,  so  that  the  earth  underneath  the 
desert  sands  became  as  solid  as  it  was  before  the  Nomes  be 
gan  to  dig. 

Early  the  following  morning  a  gay  cavalcade  set  out  to 

291 


The  Emerald  City  of    Oz 

visit  the  famous  Sorceress,  Glinda  the  Good.  Ozma  and 
Dorothy  rode  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  the  Cowardly  Lion  and 
the  Hungry  Tiger,  while  the  Sawhorse  drew  the  red  wagon 
in  which  rode  the  rest  of  the  party. 

With  hearts  light  and  free  from  care  they  traveled  mer 
rily  along  through  the  lovely  and  fascinating  Land  of  Oz, 
and  in  good  season  reached  the  stately  castle  in  which  re 
sided  the  Sorceress. 

Glinda  knew  that  they  were  coming. 

"I  have  been  reading  about  you  in  my  Magic  Book," 
she  said,  as  she  greeted  them  in  her  gracious  way. 

"What  is  your  Magic  Book  like?"  inquired  Aunt  Em, 
curiously. 

"It  is  a  record  of  everything  that  happens,"  replied  the 
Sorceress.  "As  soon  as  an  event  takes  place,  anywhere  in  the 
world,  it  is  immediately  found  printed  in  my  Magic  Book. 
So  when  I  read  its  pages  I  am  well  informed." 

"Did  it  tell  how  our  enemies  drank  the  Water  of  'Bliv- 
ion?"  asked  Dorothy. 

''Yes,  my  dear;  it  told  all  about  it.  And  also  it  told  me 
you  were  all  coming  to  my  castle,  and  why." 

''Then,"  said  Ozma,  "I  suppose  you  know  what  is  in  my 
mind,  and  that  I  am  seeking  a  way  to  prevent  any  one  in  the 
future  from  discovering  the  Land  of  Oz." 

'Yes;  I  know  that.    And  while  you  were  on  your  jour- 

292 


Chapter  Twenty -Nine 

ney  I  have  thought  of  a  way  to  accomplish  your  desire.  For 
it  seems  to  me  unwise  to  allow  too  many  outside  people  to 
come  here.  Dorothy,  with  her  uncle  and  aunt,  has  now  re 
turned  to  Oz  to  live  always,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  leave  any  way  open  for  others  to  travel  uninvited  to 
our  fairyland.  Let  us  make  it  impossible  for  any  one  ever  to 
communicate  with  us  in  any  way,  after  this.  Then  we  may 
live  peacefully  and  contentedly." 

"Your  advice  is  wise,"  returned  Ozma.  "I  thank  you, 
Glinda,  for  your  promise  to  assist  me." 

"But  how  can  you  do  it?"  asked  Dorothy.  "How  can 
you  keep  every  one  from  ever  finding  Oz?" 

"By  making  our  country  invisible  to  all  eyes  but  our 
own,"  replied  the  Sorceress,  smiling.  "I  have  a  magic  charm 
powerful  enough  to  accomplish  that  wonderful  feat,  and  now 
that  we  have  been  warned  of  our  danger  by  the  Nome  King's 
invasion,  I  believe  we  must  not  hesitate  to  separate  ourselves 
forever  from  all  the  rest  of  the  world." 

"I  agree  with  you,"  said  the  Ruler  of  Oz. 

"Won't  it  make  any  difference  to  us?"  asked  Dorothy, 
doubtfully. 

"No,  my  dear,"  Glinda  answered,  assuringly.  "We  shall 
still  be  able  to  see  each  other  and  everything  in  the  Land  of 
Oz.  It  won't  affect  us  at  all;  but  those  who  fly  through  the 
air  over  our  country  will  look  down  and  see  nothing  at  all. 

293 


The  Emerald  City  of  Oz 

Those  who  come  to  the  edge  of  the  desert,  or  try  to  cross  it, 
will  catch  no  glimpse  of  Oz,  or  know  in  what  direction  it  lies. 
No  one  will  try  to  tunnel  to  us  again  because  we  cannot  be 
seen  and  therefore  cannot  be  found.  In  other  words,  the 
Land  of  Oz  will  entirely  disappear  from  the  knowledge  of 
the  rest  of  the  world." 

"That 's  all  right,"  said  Dorotljy,  cheerfully.  "You  may 
make  Oz  invis'ble  as  soon  as  you  please,  for  all  I  care." 

"It  is  already  invisible,"  Glinda  stated.  "I  knew  Ozma's 
wishes,  and  performed  the  Magic  Spell  before  you  arrived." 

Ozma  seized  the  hand  of  the  Sorceress  and  pressed  it 
gratefully. 

"Thank  you!"  she  said. 


294 


r 


QMFIQlIi 


THE  writer  of  these  Oz  stones  has  received  a  little  note 
from  Princess  Dorothy  of  Oz  which,  for  a  time,  has  made  him 
feel  rather  discontented.  The  note  was  written  on  a  broad 
white  feather  from  a  stork's  wing,  and  it  said : 

" Tou  will  never  hear  anything  more  about  Oz, 
because  we  are  now  cut  off  forever  from  all  the  rest  of 
the  world.  But  tfoto  and  I  will  always  love  you  and 
all  the  other  children  who  love  us. 

"DOROTHY  GALE." 

This  seemed  to  me  too  bad,  at  first,  for  Oz  is  a  very  in 
teresting  fairyland.  Still,  we  have  no  right  to  feel  grieved, 
for  we  have  had  enough  of  the  history  of  the  Land  of  Oz  to 

295 


The  Emerald  City  of  Cz 


fill  six  story  books,  and  from  its  quaint  people  and  their 
strange  adventures  we  have  been  able  to  learn  many  useful 
and  amusing  things. 

So  good  luck  to  little  Dorothy  and  her  companions.  May 
they  live  long  in  their  invisible  country  and  be  very  happy ! 


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